


Going Viral

by biannabeth



Series: Sing To Me Instead [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: BandAU, Estelle - Freeform, F/M, Slow Burn, i put original lyrics in this, info dump of all my music knowledge, not to flex, percys in a band, sorta - Freeform, theatregeekannabeth, what a cutie, youtuberannabeth, youtuberau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 43,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28179504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biannabeth/pseuds/biannabeth
Summary: ~sequel in progress~The Halfbloods world tour has just drawn to a close and Percy can finally catch a break, but he stumbles across a video of a girl covering one of his songs and suddenly he can't get her out of his head.Annabeth was gaining subscribers everyday, becoming more and more popular for her Youtube channel, but an unimportant video she posted when she was tipsy gets the attention of a certain someone and somehow she's viral overnight.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf
Series: Sing To Me Instead [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077779
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

May 14th

"Thank you, London!" He shouted over the sound of the screaming fans. His voice was hoarse, his throat would be in agony tomorrow but it didn't matter. This was it, their last night of tour.

World Tour. It was over and it still felt surreal.

Percy turned to his band mates. Thalia and Nico were somehow less sweaty than he was but looked equally as exhausted, both grinning widely. Grover was in the wings dressed head to toe in every piece of merch that hadn't sold out. Even Chiron, their manager, was beaming at them from backstage.

"Goodnight!" The three of them called in unison as the lights went out. They darted off stage in the darkness and the audience roared.

Grover clapped them on the back as they passed and Chiron offered Percy a bottle of water which he took greedily. The stage crew were surrounding them, removing their earpieces and mic packs quickly so they can be packed away.

"That's it for another year, folks." Chiron smiled, a proud twinkle in his eye.

The bottle in Percy's hand was snatched by Thalia but he only rolled his eyes. After touring with the two of them for the last three month, he wasn't particularly grossed out by anything anymore. She handed it back and he just shrugged before he took another swig.

"Take a breather." Grover smiled, heading off to help sort through their instruments. "But then shower. You all reek. The plane's in three hours."

~~~

It's 9pm the next day when they land back in Manhattan, though it doesn't feel it from all the travelling through time zones. Percy could've cried when he realised the flight was 16 hours but he was beyond tired and stayed peacefully passed out for most of the journey. It's been 24 hours at least since Percy last checked his social media but he's in not bothered at the moment, not with the knowledge that his mom will be at the airport when they land. (Yes, he's a rockstar but he loves his mom more than anything, screw his 'bad-boy' reputation.)

Sally isn't a particularly short woman but in the last few years Percy has grown to be a head taller than her. Still, Percy feels just as safe in her arms as he did when he was only up to her knees. She holds him and tells him how proud she is of him (and that she's got a freshly baked batch of cookies waiting for him in the car - he's not sure which makes his heart swell more).

The night is pretty uneventful. His mom treats everyone to homemade macaroni at her apartment and offers her guest room to Thalia who recently announced her plan to down every bottle of vodka her dad sent while they were away. Will, Nico's boyfriend, arrives just after midnight and the two of them say their goodbyes. When the buzz of excitement in the air suddenly wears out, Paul ushers Grover and Percy into his Prius and gives them a lift back to their apartment. It's 3am but neither of them have any plans for at least a month so they allow themselves to crawl onto the couch and put some trash on the TV.

Percy's eyelids are just beginning to feel heavy when he slides his phone out of his back pocket and opens twitter. The fans have gone mad again, he thinks with a smile as he scrolls through the #thehalfbloods tweets.

 **hxlfbloodddarci** had the best time at the concert tonight. the halfbloods are a dream, so much energy in one room and i finally got to meet some of my ibfs! lots of love <3 #thehalfbloods

There's a photo attached of three teenagers outside the O2 arena, each of them with crazy hairstyles, ripped jeans and a HalfBlood world tour shirt.

 **thaliagseyeliner** best night of my life!! can't believe i got to see this with my own eyes!! #thehalfbloods

The video attached is of Percy, drenched in sweat, leaping across the stage with his guitar over his shoulder. He chuckles.

A more recent tweet catches his eye, posted only twenty minutes ago.

 **fangirlsophxox** So.. i was almost in tears from realising we won't get any new hb tour footage but my fav just covered one of their songs so now i can listen to this on repeat and die happy #thehalfbloods #absoluteannabeth

There's a video of a girl that catches Percy's eye. He opens it and hurried to turn his volume down before Grover could complain.

The camera angle is a bit weird, probably taken from the music stand of her keyboard. Percy can only see her chin and some blonde curls falling over her shoulders. But her voice is beautiful.

It's strange to hear their song played so softly when just last night they'd blasted it out to an arena full of people. Her voice is barely a whisper. The video cuts out as the fan stops screen recording. He lets the video play a few times before his phone screen goes dark.

Grover snores beside him and Percy sighs. So much for movie night.

~~~

May 17th

Annabeth wakes with a purpose. Today's to-do list was packed and she didn't like the idea of going to dinner with Piper tonight feeling guilty for neglecting her job.

Within an hour, she's showered, dressed, walked Luna, fed herself and Luna and was ready at her desk. She glanced over her plans.

may 17th, annabeth's to do list  
1\. edit book review - rebel of the sands  
2\. update weekly vlog  
3\. insta ad for audible  
4\. film q&a  
5\. ideas for collabs

Deciding to make a start with the easiest of the tasks, she transfers the footage she took last night and on her morning walk onto her laptop. She cuts together a shot of Luna by the door with her new harness in her mouth, tail thumping the door repetitively with another one of them playing fetch at the park. When she's satisfied with the transitions, she grabs her highlighter and marks off number two. Progress.

Now for something she enjoys — filming.

Her set-up is simple, She sits cross legged at the bottom of her bed, back against the wall of fairy lights and turns on her camera. It takes a few minutes for her to be happy with the lighting and then she diverts her attention to her kitchen to make a cup of tea, but then she's sat in front of her ring light, phone in hand to answer some questions.

Annabeth likes to think she's quite a private person, but she's aware how stupid that sounds. "But Annabeth, you're whole life is online. What do you mean 'private'?" Sure, there's that. But she skims through the hundreds of questions for almost five minutes before she finds one she's willing to share the answer to.

She sets her phone down and films an intro.

"Hey everyone, Annabeth here. It's been a while since I've filmed a Q&A so I figured I'd treat ya'." She winks at the camera and takes a sip of her tea. It's a little awkward to be talking to herself in her very empty apartment, but Annabeth's thankful that Piper's not back yet. It's always harder to focus when her best friend is chuckling at the awkwardness of her unedited videos from the next room. Luna lays obediently on the bed just out of the frame and Annabeth silently thanks herself for training her so well.

"I asked you over on twitter to send me some questions - if you missed it, my handle is @absoluteannabeth and you should totally follow me - and I got so many replies, so let's get straight to it."

The first question she answers is asking her favorite author. She totally waffles the answer because how can she pick? Muttering something about J.K. Rowlings brilliant stories (though she would be a lot less problematic if she stopped trying to fake diversity and just own up to the lack thereof), Annabeth decides to throw in a shameless self-promo to her Alwyn Hamilton book review.

There's a question about Luna to which Annabeth delightfully lifts her sleepy labrador into the frame. She groans and pretends it's hard work to carry her but really Luna is quite small for her breed and Annabeth has no trouble holding her like a baby before setting her in her lap to snooze.

There's several questions about her family, her love life - Annabeth makes a mental note to edit out her snort when she spots that question - and any current crushes but then another question catches her eye.

 **fangirlsophxox** will you be posting any more covers/original songs? your cover of 'lightning skies' was beautiful i want more!!

"Aw, this ones so sweet." She blushes. "I didn't really want to post that to be honest, but Piper got me a bit tipsy so it was an impulse decision. Drink responsibly, kids!" Annabeth chuckles to herself.

"But thank you, I've always loved music - particularly musical theatre if I'm honest - but I had a burst of creativity and I just love that song. I might film a few more, who knows?"

Secretly, Annabeth is thrilled to have posted some of her music out there. It wasn't her own song, but it certainly had her own spin on it. She was playing it at basically half the speed and had made it so rubato that the tempo was hard to tap along to. Maybe if people were enjoying it, she might be able to put herself out there a bit more. What's stopping her?

She goes through a few more, making sure to answer extra just incase she decides to cut out some of the answers when she edits the video and then signs off to the camera. The highlighter strikes through number four.

It makes her feel very accomplished when she can almost immediately put a strike through number three as well. She finds a photo of herself a few weeks ago, headphones in and sat by the window and is quick to type a caption. The company wanting the ad had practically sent a script anyway so all she had to do was sprinkle her own personality in there, stick #ad at the start and save it to her drafts. She'd post that later.

Number one and five are more long winded so she decided to cook some lunch while brainstorming ideas for collabs and then she eats said lunch besides her laptop, editing furiously. It's only a book review so it doesn't take as much work as normal, but after the amount of times she listens to herself talk about it, she's sent herself almost insane.

Finally, she puts the final strike through her to-do list and screws it up with satisfaction. She hits 'share' on the instagram post and shares the thumbnail for the review on her story. Everything's lined up for that to post at 5:30 tonight so now she can relax.

Piper's due back from visiting her boyfriend in California in a few hours but until then, Annabeth has the apartment to herself. She perches at the piano and plays a few chords. Might as well kill the time, she supposes.


	2. Chapter 2

May 20th

He can't get her out of his head.

So maybe he had a few stalker-like tendencies. Sue him. He'd followed the #absoluteannabeth tag from the video to find her twitter profile and then her instagram. And then her Youtube channel.

Having finished the tour, Percy now had a lot of time on his hands to catch up with the world. Instead, he'd lost himself in this girl.

She had just over 1 million followers on Instagram and nearly twice as many subscribers to her Youtube. After doing some searching, he found that she already followed him and suddenly he felt more relaxed about following her and liking most of her photos.

Annabeth was pretty, he'd concluded as much from just seeing her video thumbnails. She had honey blonde hair, startling grey eyes, a sharp chin and a fair few freckles dusting her nose.

From all of his (extensive) research, Percy concluded many, many things.

She had a golden labrador. Her roommate, Piper, also had a Youtube channel and they often appeared in each others videos. She had a degree in mathematics and architecture from a very fancy university. She'd done lots of community theatre as a kid and loved performing but now she was reluctant to share that side of herself. Annabeth was a bit of a nerd and had named her dog after a Harry Potter character. Also he'd watched 52 of her videos and 8 of Piper's that she was featured in, and every single time she looked cute (Yes, even when they did the chubby bunny challenge and she had marshmallows and dribble falling out of her mouth).

It's endearing. She can scrunch her nose up and pout at him through a camera lens and he thinks he might be a little bit in love with her.

"Do you know her?" Grover asks, referring to the voice coming out of Percy's phone speakers. He's playing her cover of 'lightning skies' again.

Percy shakes his head and Grover frowns. "I've heard her sing this same song about 20 times today, Perce, it's not even 11am. Don't tell me you're obsessed with a fan."

He doesn't shake his head this time and Grover raises an eyebrow but keeps quiet, deciding instead to peer over Percy's shoulder at the open web browser.

The video is captioned 'lightning skies, the halfbloods - by annabeth chase'.

"That's a lot of views." Grover comments, clearly realising she wasn't just a fan of their band, she was famous in her own right.

Percy closes Youtube and grabs himself another pop tart. "She's a Youtuber. 2 million subs or something ridiculous."

Grover nods appreciatively and pats down a stray curl. He was wearing his smart jeans, the ones that aren't covered in grass stains, and a button-down shirt with a complimentary tie. Percy frowned. "Are you..? Why are you dressed like that?"

He lets out a small laugh and bites his lip. "That obvious that I made an effort?" Somehow Grover has the audacity to blush and whisper something Percy can't hear.

"What was that?"

"I've got a date with Juniper?"

Beaming, Percy pats Grover on the back. "Nice, G-Man, you finally ask her out?"

He's bright red by the time he finishes telling Percy his plans for the day. They'll be going for a walk round the nature reserve, Grover's packed a picnic and then they're going to the art history museum.

When Grover's left half an hour later and Percy loads up Youtube again, he feels weird. He's not lonely, it's not that. But he would enjoy some kind of company. He's not got a girlfriend like Grover (though Grover insists they're not dating yet) and maybe Percy's tempted to ring everyone in his contacts until he finds someone to spend the day with. He's tempted to get in touch with Annabeth, but that would be totally stalkerish and inappropriate.

Bingo! A new emotion! Percy picks up his guitar and strums.

He opens voice recorder on his phone and starts a recording knowing that he's going to need to listen back to this if he comes up with anything half decent.

The acoustic guitar feels strange in his hands after months of scoring his finger on an electric. It's comforting. Percy plucks a few familiar motifs and chords before putting a capo on the third fret and getting creative. He plays a soft melody, quite the contrast to the deafening tracks usually on his albums.

The Halfbloods didn't really consider themselves a rock bank, but the dramatic guitar riffs and uptempo drum patterns would suggest something like that. They'd done a few ballads before, one on each of their albums, but that wasn't really what they were about. Thalia threatened to throw up the first time Percy brought in some sappy lyric ideas but a few songs got the 'okay'. Their first album had ended with a ballad, it was supposed to be a bonus track, not one of their title songs, but the fans had adored it. 'Whisper' was somewhat of an ode to Nico's sister, Bianca, who had past away a few years prior. Percy had never met her but he knew the song meant a lot to Nico and he was honoured when he was asked to sing the lead vocals for it.

'Bake it Blue' was Percy's personal favorite ballad they'd done. It wasn't quite as emotionally taxing to sing but it always made him feel closer to his mom. Singing that on their first tour was something Percy had looked forward to every night and the fans went wild every time.

He thumbed the strings and played a soft melody.

_Pretty girl with a pretty voice_

_Something tells me to make that choice_

_To help you see what you mean to me_

_Here's the words I hope to be_

_Kind and caring, I know you must be_

_Worth the loving, I hope you can see_

_Only been a week since I saw your face_

_Maybe I've found my place_

_Only a girl singing through a phone_

_Seems your voice could lead me home_

Admittedly, the words would need work. But hey, something's better than nothing, right? He listened back to the audio recording before forwarding it to the group chat.

**Thalia** dam, already at it?

**Thalia** sounds sappy

**Thalia** not bad though

**Nico** who's the girl?

Percy wracked his brain for an answer that wouldn't make him sound like a psycho. 'I saw this girl on twitter and I've watched almost 100 hours of her footage and now I think I might be in love with her'? That wouldn't do, he'd never hear the end of it.

**Percy** just some girl i heard sing a cover of one of our songs

Nice one Percy, play it real cool.

**Thalia** didn't know you were one to write a song about a fan but ok

**Nico** its not bad though

**Nico** lyrics need tweaking

**Nico** whats the third chord you used?

He has to pick up the guitar to work it out because he has the memory of a goldfish.

**Percy** E

**Nico** make it c# minor

**Nico** for the angst 

Immediately the songs sounds more nostalgic and Percy sends a voice memo of the verse for them to hear.

**Thalia** don't tell chiron we've got new stuff yet or he'll make us get to work

**Thalia** im enjoying my lie ins

**Nico** i like it though. needs work but maybe we can get another album out before feb after all


	3. Chapter 3

May 26th

Annabeth liked to keep busy. This weekend was no different. By that evening she'd completed the to-do list for the day, filmed and edited an extra video with Piper to save for when she wanted a day off, been for a run and written another blog post.

"I think I might livestream." Annabeth said aloud.

Piper scoffed. "As if you've not put enough content out already this week. Give yourself a breather, you work to hard." She snatched the toast out of Annabeth's hand and took a bite before handing it back.

"I enjoy it, and my followers do to. No harm done." She defended herself, scowling at the missing chunk of her toast and then at Piper.

With no come back, Piper shrugged and stole another bite of her toast to spite her. Annabeth flipped her off and moved to her room to film.

Her laptop camera was hardly top quality but it was easier than using her phone, especially for casual livestreams like this. Annabeth snapped a quick selfie on her instagram with the caption 'live on my YT now ;)' and posted it to her story before starting the stream. People started to appear while she got comfy, leaving comments and emojis like nobody's business. She smiled, grateful that her fans are so positive.

"Hi, everyone." She greeted, readjusting her ring light to get rid of the shadow across her face. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm gonna do here, but I felt like streaming, so let's just sit and chat."

The hardest part about sharing unedited content, besides the fact that Annabeth could waffle utter nonsense for the better part of the night, was the need for her to keep her emotions in check. If she spotted a particularly nasty comment or personal question, she had a job trying to redirect her attention and once or twice she had almost wanted to end the stream to save herself some dignity. It kept her on her toes though, which was something she enjoyed.

"Go ahead and ask questions or suggest some things I could do, I kinda wanna prank Piper but you guys know how bad I am at that after last time."

Piper yells something from her room next door and Annabeth decides that she ought to drop her neighbors some cookies as a thank you for not making a noise complaint yet.

Annabeth skim reads the comments.

**annabeepipes** i love your sweater!!

**lunalablover99** how are you????

**chasesace_xo** did i hear piper hehe

"Yeah, that's Pipes causin' trouble." Annabeth giggled.

**lillymayellisxx** have you seen???

**halfchasefan** did you see the tweet oml

**jasperchase12** i'm so happy for you!! plz tell me you've seen it

She frowned to the camera. "What are you on about? What haven't I seen?" Her laptop lags from all the comments that appear. Annabeth picks up her phone and heads to twitter as per her followers instructions.

Percy (@ **percyjackson18** )

Some genuine talent right here, made my day ;)

@ absoluteannabeth

And there, right below his tweet, is a retweet of someone who posted her singing video.

"Oh my god," Annabeth grins at her laptop. "Is this real? What's happening?"

Piper stands in the doorway, phone in hand just incase Annabeth didn't already know.

"What's happening is your celeb crush tagged you in your fans tweet so you'd know he thinks you're talented." She smirked.

Annabeth cursed all the comments that picked up on her blush. "He's not my celeb crush."

"'The Halfbloods wrote a new song, Piper', 'Percy's got such a nice voice, Piper', 'listen to him sing!'"

"So I appreciate his music, it's not as though he's made a career from it." She said sarcastically and added an eye roll for effect.

"'He's got the most beautiful eyes, Piper', 'look at his abs in this photo, Piper!'"

Giving in, Annabeth sighed. "They're the most beautiful shade of green though, you can't blame me for that."

She was certainly bright red by now and was actively trying to hide behind her ponytail as she tipped her head forwards. Her roommate was snickering in the doorway.

"But seriously, Annie, good for you. I knew you should've posted that cover." Piper's words seemed genuine enough but what the camera couldn't see was her devilish smirk.

"Don't call me that," Annabeth snapped halfheartedly. "But thank you."

She glanced back at the laptop to read some comments.

**annabeepipes** i ship it???

**halfannach13** reply to him!!

**x.elise.chase.x** get married already

"Reply? With what?" She opted to ignore the comments about how her and Percy should get together. He was a celebrity, there was no way he even knew who she was past that video.

**halfannach13** say thanks and start a convo

**rosabeth.xx** annabeth: *slides into percy's dms*

Annabeth snorted. "You guys are getting ahead of yourselves. I doubt he even knows my name."

"He knew to tag you even though the video didn't link to your account." Piper added, ever the voice of reason.

Anxiously, Annabeth presses the comment button and bites her lip. "I don't know what to put... He's gonna think I'm weird." She considers typing out a mere 'thanks :)' but that seemed too brief.

**riyamason1603** imagine being as famous as annabeth and still not having the guts to slide into your crush's dms

"Here, I'll dictate." Piper announces, moving to sit on the edge of the bed so the viewers can see her. Annabeth types everything she says, filtering it to make it more appropriate. "Omg, cant believe you saw this. Excited emoji. Star-eyes emoji. Love this song so much, I couldn't resist a cover. Marry me please. Heart eyes emoji. Ring emoji."

Rolling her eyes, she finished her sentence and showed it to Piper.

Omg, can't believe you saw this. 😅😆 Love this song so much so I couldn't resist a cover. Thank you for commenting :)

"How old are you? 50?" Annabeth scowled at Piper. "Go ahead."

With Piper's unconvincing approval, Annabeth posts the tweet and immediately closes twitter, throwing her phone onto her pillow. She's scared to pick it up again to look over the message. If she dwells on her own awkwardness too much, she'll make herself sick.

**riyamason1603** gals we gotta pull through and set this up

Maybe that's enough of the livestream, she thinks, hurriedly signing off. When she closes her laptop she curses. She definitely should've have asked her viewers not to share the stream anywhere. Oh well, too late now. Percy probably knew of her obsession with his eyes and was filing a restraining order this very second.

Her phone pings. Several times.

It's not a twitter notification. It's an instagram DM. From him.

**percyjackson18** didn't want to plaster this all over twitter bc people might get the wrong idea but you're voice is gorgeous and i've been tryna resist the urge to message you since i saw the cover last week

**percyjackson18** also i saw your live

**percyjackson18** not that i'm stalking you or anything

**percyjackson18** okay maybe it looks that way

**percyjackson18** i'm making a fool of myself aren't i

She's quick to type out a reply, no longer nervous about how she'd come across. Her fans weren't going to see this and he was certainly just as awkward as her.

**absoluteannabeth** haha dw, if you saw that live then you've already seen me act the fool

**percyjackson18** please, my roommates sick of hearing your voice from me creeping on all your socials. doesn't get much worse than that

Piper notices her shy smiles and spies at the messages. Blowing a kiss and offering her a cheeky wink, she retreats from Annabeth's room. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it."


	4. Chapter 4

May 28th

Whenever someone asks him what's got him so cheerful the last few days, Percy just smiles and says 'just woke up on the right side of the bed, I suppose'. But it's not that. It's not that at all. He can only get out of his bed one side anyway because it's pressed against a wall. He's not stupid.

He's been feeling good about himself lately. He took his little sister on a day trip to the aquarium for some sibling bonding, he's beaten Nico on 'words with friends' three times consecutively, he's written four songs all by himself that he doesn't plan on sharing with anyone (at least until the album gets really desperate) and he's woken up before 9am every day this week.

Also he's talking to Annabeth. That's half the reason he wakes up so soon.

Spending hours watching all of a persons content really makes you get to know them, but he's learnt that Annabeth is much more fascinating than she lets on in her videos. They've been sending messages constantly ever since he retweeted that video and Percy's very grateful that he plucked up the courage to do such a thing.

Annabeth is incredibly smart. Of course, she's got her smarty-pants maths and architecture degree but she also had a 4.8 GPA which she blames on herself skiving school for a few weeks after a 'difficult time'.

She also has a pretty nerdy sense of humor. Percy thinks his heart might explode when he sends her a video of himself playing the 'FRIENDS' theme on an out of tune guitar and her response is photo of a stave with '♮A' drawn on.

He's learnt that she's a hard worker too, something he probably could've guessed by the quality and quantity of what she uploads. Good for her, he tries to think to stop himself sulking whenever she leaves to film a video. That's how much they talk, he can tell when she's filming because she won't reply for a few hours.

One time, when they were talking at 11pm and Grover had gone to bed, Percy was tempted to facetime her or call (something he can do because he managed to get her number — she logged out of instagram for a few hours and he was not about to finish his conversation with her). He'd decided against the idea when he realised he was wearing his 'The Little Mermaid' hoodie that Estelle had bought him for his 21st. Percy wasn't fussed about her seeing him in it at all, but it was more that it wasn't the best first impression.

He wanted to make a good first impression, preferably in person though.

**percyjackson18** hey quick question

**absoluteannabeth** shoot

**percyjackson18** what does your weekend look like?

**percyjackson18** bc i kinda wanna meet you

**percyjackson18** see that ugly mug of yours in more than just late night selfies

**percyjackson18** if your down w that ofc

**absoluteannabeth** are you asking me out?

Yeah, Percy. Are you? He hesitated to reply. He can see her little text bubble typing.

**absoluteannabeth** because i'm free saturday afternoon :)

He's grinning at his phone now and he's so thankful that no one is in the room to see him.

**percyjackson18** perfect :)

**percyjackson18** there's a cafe on 8th that does the best shakes, meet you there on saturday at 3?

**absoluteannabeth** i'll be there :) x

She put a kiss on the text! She put a kiss on the text! Percy's sure his face is going to split in half.

~~~

May 30th

Saturday rolled round agonisingly slowly and Percy found himself sending Annabeth selfies of him pouting every hour without fail. Every time, she responded with her own photo with her nose all scrunched up and lips pursed - much cuter than his own photos - or a video of her rolling her eyes.

Percy couldn't sleep. He blinked a few times to get his eyes to focus and glanced at the clock. 2:24am. Groaning, he opened twitter.

Annabeth @absoluteannabeth

I've spent the last half hour trying to fold a sheet of paper in half more than 7 times and I can conclude that I'm very frustrated and am yet to succeed.

Annabeth @absoluteannabeth

There's a whale out there who's been calling for a mate for 20 years but their voice is a different frequency and so other whales can't respond 1) relatable and 2) why am I crying

There's several other tweets and Percy takes a screenshot, sending it to their text chain.

**percyjackson18** umm

**percyjackson18** you good?

She opens the message and for a few minutes, there's no reply. Maybe she's ignoring him. Percy wracks his brain for something he might've done to upset her.

The video that appears is three minutes long. She's in the dark in her room but Percy can see the reflection of her phone in her silvery eyes. From what he can tell, her hair is piled onto her head in a bun but she doesn't hold the phone still for him to figure it out. Annabeth's on a rant about something scientific he doesn't understand but he does manage to catch the word 'whale' so he thinks she's on about her tweets.

When he finishes the video, she's already typed a message.

**absoluteannabeth** okay i'm good now, just needed to vent

**absoluteannabeth** how're you

He's tempted to ask why she needed to vent about a whale but he doesn't, instead vowing to bring it up tomorrow when she's more awake and he can tease her for it.

There conversation lasts until about 4am, talking about nothing and everything once again. Eventually, Percy has to sign off.

**percyjackson18** i'm gonna have to go, i've got a shoot before i see you tomorrow and i think nico might kill me if my eye bags challenge his

**percyjackson18** not sure that made sense

**percyjackson18** but i'll see you tomorrow yea?

**absoluteannabeth** of course, get some sleep, rockstar

**percyjackson18** i will, you should too. talk to you tomorrow x

He falls asleep with a smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

May 30th

"He's meeting the girl from twitter." Thalia scowled as Silena twisted her hair into an intricate crown round her head.

When Silena smirked, Percy felt a blush climb up his cheeks. Annabeth was more than 'the girl from twitter' but they didn't need to know that.

"Are you gonna tell her that you wrote a song about her?"

Several of the hair and makeup crew responded to Nico with various comments of "You did what?" and "Oh that's so cute", but Percy just shrugged.

"I can't tell her, I already look like a stalker."

Drew brushed his eyebrows with some toothbrush-looking thing and rolled her eyes.

Percy didn't like that everyone seemed so interested in Annabeth all of a sudden. One of the younger crew members, Lacy, squealed when she found out they were meeting. He had made her promise not to tell anyone. The last thing he needed was extra pressure from Annabeth's subscribers.

(If someone tweets 'get married already #percabeth' one more time, he might actually get down on one knee, and clearly it's too soon for that.)

Honestly, Percy wanted to find something 'wrong' with Annabeth. Something - anything - that might prevent him from melting the minute she flashes a smile at him. He's the lead guitarist in a world famous band, pretty girls on the internet weren't supposed to make him feel like this. Maybe he could find out that she didn't brush her teeth and then he would stop thinking about kissing her, or that she had an army of pet snakes - that would certainly keep Percy at a distance. But alas, he doubted anything like that would arise, or that they would actually stop him from thinking about her every second of this blasted shoot.

"Percy? I don't know where your head's at but you need to focus." Aphrodite's words stole his attention away from where his phone screen had lit up.

A camera flashed in his eyes and he blinked to get his vision back. Somehow he knows that Aphrodite is glaring at him from behind her sunglasses and thanks to fear alone, Percy manages to pull himself through the rest of the photoshoot. The photographer, a woman with fiery red hair and paint covered overalls, seemed to be in several places at one, snapping photos furiously. Chiron phoned her halfway through to make sure they had plenty of photos in different outfits so they can be used to accompany different interviews later in the year and so Percy finds himself in new clothes once again.

This time, he's wearing tight fitting white jeans, a blue and green button-down with a black leather jacket. Someone shakes their hand through his hair to 'rough him up' and then there's a camera in his face again. He feels a bit uncomfortable when someone decides to add some glitter and sequins too his cheekbones but he thinks that he got a better deal than Thalia who is currently wearing denim shorts, fishnets and heeled boots. The look fits her whole 'badass, scary lady' persona but her glare indicates her discomfort.

After three more outfits, someone calls the photoshoot to an end and they're allowed to get changed into their 'normal' clothes.

He and Annabeth had agreed to dress casually. The cafe they're meeting at isn't usually busy but neither of them want to be spotted by the press, so Percy opts to wear sunglasses with a crisp blue shirt and tan trousers. The clothes aren't his usual style but he wants to make a good impression and his mom picked it out for him.

"Have fun on your date, kelp head." Thalia winks at him as he makes his way to the door. The reminder of his childhood nickname makes him roll his eyes but he suppresses a retort, merely nodding at her in thanks.

It's only a short walk to the cafe but he travels quickly, not waiting to see if the nosy passersby are going to recognise him. When he gets there, the woman behind the counter smiles at him.

Demeter is a gentle woman. She has smile lines and a kind twinkle in her warm, brown eyes. Numerous times, she'd taken Percy into the back room to avoid an ambush of fans when he wanted a quiet moment. Percy is convinced she's never heard his music and probably hasn't a clue why teenage girls always beg for photos with him but he's not offended. It's quite refreshing to know that she's not going to tweet about his late night ventures to get a caffeine boost and a donut.

There's an empty table that he takes a seat at. It's far enough away that he isn't visible to anyone outside the window, but close enough that Annabeth will see him when she walks in.

Demeter delivers another customers order and stops by Percy's table. Carefully, she lifts off a leftover sequin from his face before patting his cheek. "Handsome boy. Who are you waiting for?"

"Her name is Annabeth." He answers, wiping his cheeks to be rid of any trace of glitter.

"Pretty name." She comments. "Pretty girl?"

"Yeah, she's..." Before Percy can finish the sentence, the bell on the door chimes and Annabeth walks in. He knows its her despite her disguise and he takes in her appearance before she can spot him staring.

She's wearing a pair of nude pink ankle boots, ripped, blue jeans and a loose fitted, white shirt. Her cardigan matches her shoes and falls to her knees. Percy meets her eyes through her shades and realises he's been spotted.

A small wave encourages her to walk over.

Annabeth puts her sunglasses in her bag as she walks and Percy notices she has a small amount of makeup. It isn't much, eyeshadow, mascara and eyeliner that Thalia would be proud of. Her freckles are faint as if she'd covered them up a little, but even so, Percy nods when Demeter mutters "Beautiful girl," and heads back to the till.

"Um, hey." He almost offers her his hand to shake but he stops himself.

"Hi." Annabeth holds his gaze. It feels confrontational but he blames that on the steely grey of her eyes and the way she bites her lip.

He gestures for her to take a seat opposite him and she does. They sit in silence. After a moment, Annabeth shakes her head.

"This is weird, right? Why are we being weird?"

"Uhh... I don't..." He stands. "I'll order. What do you want?"

Perhaps that wasn't his best ice-breaker but she answers all the same and he goes to the counter. Demeter chuckles while she makes their drinks.

"Oh, sweetheart," She hands him their order and winks while she advises him. "Relax."

Percy heads back to the table and places Annabeth's order in front of her. The smile he offers her is tentative but she scrunches her nose up and sticks her tongue out.

"Chill, Percy, I don't bite."

He forces his shoulders down and raises an eyebrow at her. "Could've fooled me."

Suddenly the tension has gone and they're laughing together like old friends. She comments about the sheer amount of E-numbers in his shake being able rot his teeth in about five minutes flat and he questions how on earth she drinks her coffee so bitter.

He wants to remember this. He's not entirely sure why, there's a weight in his mind that this is going to be important, he wants to remember this very moment. The awkwardness is still laced in the air but she's hiding behind her coffee cup and blinking up at him and she's definitely the most beautiful woman he's ever see. If he could take a mental photo, he would.

His phone is in his hand and he lifts it questioningly.

"Just don't post anything, please." Annabeth responds quietly and he nods, snapping a photo. When he shows it to her for her approval, she pulls out her own phone and Percy pulls a face that makes her grin. He feels lighter when she's smiling, weightless.


	6. Chapter 6

May 30th

The cafe closes at 6pm so Annabeth and Percy are forced to relocate. They debate walking through the park but when they pass it looks relatively busy so Percy suggests they go to his apartment. She sends a text to Piper, giving her the mandatory update that they use when they meet new people. Piper sends her a thumbs up and tells her that she's watching her location and has her phone on ringer. Annabeth feels perfectly safe with Percy but it's still reassuring to know that someone's got her back.

"Okay, so what's your worst fear?" Annabeth asks as they walk along the bank to his apartment.

Percy pouts while he thinks. "I could be really tragic and say 'losing the people I love' but I get really freaked out in small spaces, so that." When she scoffs, Percy rolls his eyes. "Well what about you?"

"I'm severely arachnophobic." She answers simply.

He looks puzzled for a minute. Annabeth notices the way his eyebrows draw together and smiles to herself. "Spiders? Right?"

"That's the one."

~~~

Percy's apartment is modest. It's bigger than Annabeth's sure, but not by a ton. They sit on the couch, TV playing in the background while they talk.

20 minutes into the conversation, Annabeth spots several instruments in the corner of the room piled up neatly and buried amongst amps and sound equipment. There's an acoustic guitar, similar to the one Piper has 'for decoration', it's red wood and glossed but looks a little roughed up, presumably from use. An electric is beside it, Annabeth spots a broken string and wonders absently if that's what he toured with. Leaning against the wall is a small keyboard, no good for properly playing as the keys are so tiny, but she imagines its more for notation purposes. There's a basket of various shakers and bells overflowing on the floor, a guitar bag that looks like it might be occupied and a white, glossed ukulele.

Annabeth can't help but gravitate the conversation towards the instruments. She loves music and misses messing about in the practice rooms at school with Hazel and Piper. Despite having a ukulele in her apartment and a better keyboard than Percy's, she looks at all the instruments longingly. If Percy notices, he's not offended.

Eventually, he asks, "You play?" and gets up show her the instruments.

She shrugged. "I can almost play piano - chords and simple melodies - and I have a uke, but my hands are too small for all the finger positions. If a song's in C major, I can just about manage."

His eyes are soft when she meets them and Annabeth feels something twisting in her gut that aches for him to look at her like that forever.

Lifting her palm to prove her difficultly, Annabeth speaks, "See, too small."

Percy flattens his own palm against hers and snorts when his fingers tower above hers. "Why are you hands so cold?" He exclaims while he pokes fun at her little hands. "Are you cold blooded?"

"Actually, humans are warm blooded. But statistically, women are more likely to have cold hands and feet than men because on average, they have less muscle mass." She spouts.

Dazed, Percy nodded and cleared his throat, putting his hand down.

They settle on the couch again and put on Harry Potter. They've both seen it before but it allows them to hold a discussion without missing any plot points. Percy confesses his mild identity crisis over his Hogwarts house. Annabeth informs him she's a Ravenclaw and he admits that's the only one he's certain that he doesn't belong in.

"You said you feared losing the people you love, right? Sounds pretty Hufflepuff to me."

Annabeth has said it before but it still rings true: you can learn a lot about a person from their Harry Potter commentary. Percy's favorite character is whichever Weasley is in the scene - but Molly whenever they're all on screen. She notices that Percy is very vocal whenever any of the adult figures in Harry's life does something stupid and he doesn't stop complaining about Umbridge until they switch to watching the next movie.

"Who does she think she is? Absolute psycho, worse than Voldemort."

They're not watching them in order and instead are watching their favorite ones first, so they begin with Order of the Phoenix and movie on to Goblet of Fire. Sometime through the second movie, Percy's roommate comes to join them and they order pizza.

 **hyperpiper** heyo, hope youre havin a good time bby but its gettin late

Annabeth checks her message and then the time. 11:16pm. Percy was good company and Grover seemed nice enough and time had just slipped past her. Reluctantly, Annabeth says her goodbyes.

"It was nice to finally meet you, we should do this again sometime." Percy smiled, leaning on the doorframe. He'd offered to walk her home but she assured him that she'd be okay. An Uber would be quicker and much warmer.

"Absolutely. I don't know what your schedule looks like, rockstar, but hopefully there's room for little old Annabeth to worm her way in."

She's trying to be casual but there's something stirring in her stomach. _He's famous_ , she reminds herself. So is she, technically, but he's a world famous celebrity. Something about this A-lister wanting to spend his time with her seems laughable. Maybe he's just having some fun before he releases a new album and heads out on tour again, that sounded about right. Annabeth wasn't a destination, not who anyone wanted to spend their time with, she was a perfectly pleasant motel people stopped at on their travels before they got where they wanted to be. That's how things were with her mom, her dad, hell, even her childhood best friends had chewed her up and stuck her somewhere out of sight like a piece of old gum. With the exception of Piper, no one had stayed around for long. Most of her friends were inherited from Piper anyway, even Hazel.

Percy doesn't mention the faraway look in her eyes but offers her a small smile.

"Text me when you're home safe."

"I will. Thank you for today."

"Don't mention it."

Walking away, she feels guilty for taking up his time, but she glances back at him and catches the flush of pink that peers over his collar onto his cheeks and thinks maybe he likes her company. She certainly likes his.


	7. Chapter 7

May 31st

Awoken by Piper's shower singalong, Annabeth gets up out of bed and stretches to wake herself up. Last night flashes in her mind and she smiles to herself.

There's a text from Percy when she checks her phone.

 **percyjackson18** morning :) dont wanna spam incase ur still asleep bc wakin u up would be mean but just wanted u to know that im thinkin of u and cant wait to see u again. maybe im bein creepy lol sorry. youve turned me into a sap, chase, this is ur fault

Her face splits into a grin and she opens her camera to send him a video of her blushing and hiding behind her morning hair, not her best look admittedly, but for barely 8am, she doesn't look too bad. While she gets herself and Luna ready for a run, her smile remains plastered to her face.

"Thinking about your boy?" A bite of her croissant is stolen. 

"He's not-" Piper raises her eyebrows. "Yeah."

The morning passes slowly and Annabeth slugs through her to-do list. She updates her video ideas but finds herself returning to the same kind of theme.

\- teaching myself to play guitar  
\- perfect pitch test   
\- explaining musicals in a minute  
\- 1 hour songwriting challenge

Usually, she'd try to steer clear from posting to much music on her channel so most of her videos are book reviews, general challenges and games. Her music taste is a little obsessive and Annabeth is keen not to scare off her followers by nerding out about the recurring musical motifs of Wicked or the symbolic importance of ponytails in Hamilton.

Maybe she could post one and see if it does as well as her puppy videos...

~~~

June 3rd

Estelle tugs at his arm and pulls him through the aisles of clothes towards the Disney section.

Percy, ever the best big brother, was donning one of the many Disney products Estelle had picked out for him for his birthday last year, including his 'Finding Dory' socks and 'Monsters Inc' cap. The cap - along with his sunglasses - did a relatively good job at keeping his face hidden from anyone who might recognise him. To get ambushed by fans was one thing, being famous was his choice after all, but for it to happen with his kid sister around was not on his wish list.

His sister was one of Percy's favorite people, probably tying with his mom (sorry Grover). She was the sweetest little human and Percy was determined she would have the best childhood imaginable. He hadn't had the greatest upbringing due to his horror of a stepfather, but Estelle would be different.

Stella was the most excitable 3 - nearly 4 - year old and was always bouncing around belting Disney songs and being all round awesome. Her tea parties were iconic affairs in the Jackson-Blofis household and would feature all of the guests in tutus and tiaras sipping apple juice from plastic teacups and snacking on blue cookies. They often doubled as Estelle's council meetings and there would be heavy political discussions masked as fairytale affairs for her to learn about. The next 'council meeting' was coming up and this time Grover was coming per Stella's royal request. Which means a new tiara would be required.

"Grover likes trees and fairies, so it has to be pretty..." Estelle bounded over to the costumes were. For a few minutes, she tried on several plastic tiaras and posed in the mirror. Despite Percy's enthusiasm for each, she was convinced none of them were right.

Finally, she discovered a flower crown. The flowers were pastel purple and pink and intended to match the 'Tangled' dress it was paired with but neither of the siblings cared. Percy was just glad they were done shopping and could go get some lunch.

"Who's that?" Estelle asked as they sat beside each other in the food court. At Percy's frown, she added "On your phone. Who's that?"

Indeed, there was a face on his phone. Annabeth had sent a photo of herself pulling a goofy face a few days ago and he'd joked about making it his home screen - something he actually did when she replied "You wouldn't dare". If the press got a look at it, it would be everywhere instantly, but Percy had thought nothing of letting Estelle borrow his phone to play games - perhaps an oversight on his part as she was now glaring at the photo with all of her 3 year old scariness.

"I thought you said only 'portant people were on your phone screen. Do I go on your screen?"

"All the time, Stell."

This answer apparently didn't satisfy her and she narrowed her eyes.

"Do you have a girlfriend? Is that why she's more 'portant than me?"

Sighing, Percy worded the following sentences carefully.

"That's Annabeth, she's my friend. She's not more important than you but I really like her. I put her on my lock screen to make her smile. Is that okay?"

Satisfied, the little girl nodded and cuddled into her brothers side. His arm snaked around her protectively and he let her wriggle until she was comfortable enough to speak again.

"I'll share with Abeth." Estelle concluded, blinking her eyes sleepily. "But she has to come to my tea party. Then you can get a photo of us together so its always both of us on your phone."

"Sounds like a plan." He smiled to himself as his sister dozed off in his lap. It would give him an excuse to see Annabeth again after all.


	8. Chapter 8

June 12th

Percy's written 4 more songs about her. He's hopeless.

In the last couple weeks, Annabeth has easily become one of his closest friends. There was something about seeing her as Estelle's personal climbing frame and donning a blue tutu and a paper crown that made his stomach do flips and she'd even asked him to 'beta' her latest video (Percy wasn't actually sure what the word meant but he got to watch a 10 minute video of her being adorable and chattering about theatre before the rest of the world so he wasn't going to complain).

He feels a little guilty about writing so many songs with her in the forefront of his mind, especially because he hasn't told her. He was going to tell her the other day when they were messing about and making up harmonies to every song they could think of, but they'd been so relaxed and carefree and he didn't want to ruin it.

They're in her apartment, Luna playing round their feet, when he gets the idea to tell her again. It's no big deal, right? He's a musician and she's his muse, it doesn't matter that he felt enough about her to write a song from just a 30 second clip. It's completely normal that he's got a whole notebook dedicated to lyrics about her. It sounded a little obsessive, he'd admit, but it wasn't weird. Was it?

"Hey, Perce, can I ask you something?"

He and Luna froze from where they were jumping around each other and looked to where Annabeth emerged from the kitchen, wide-eyed.

"Yes?" He asked, trying not to break into a smile despite Annabeth's suppressed giggles.

"How would you feel about me posting that photo of us the other night on Instagram?"

Luna trots off to her bed and curls up, leaving Percy still and staring at Annabeth. "Umm..." He doesn't know what she wants him to say. "Sure, we're not a secret, right? We don't need to pretend we're not hanging out, do we?"

Biting her lip, Annabeth nods.

"Is something wrong?" For a second, Percy panics and think maybe there's something he's missing.

"No, it's fine, don't worry."

"Annabeth, what's wrong?"

Her face tightened. Something was bothering her. Tentatively, Percy took a step towards her. Annabeth didn't meet his eyes but stuck her arms out towards him for a hug.

Hoping she wouldn't be able to feel the racing of his heart, he pulled her into his arms. It took a split second for her to relax but then she lent her head against his shoulder and muffled a cry into his shirt. Percy's chest ached when he felt her body shudder. For a moment, all he did was hold her and hope that it would offer her some sense of comfort. What was bothering her was beyond him but he knew she didn't deserve it.

"Do you want-" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat to try and cover it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Her small shrug was something Percy understood, it was what Grover did when he wanted to vent but didn't want to be overbearing and didn't know how to start talking. Carefully, he guided her to the couch and sat down. Luna was nuzzling against their knees and Annabeth reached out to scratch her behind the ears, hiccuping. They sat in silence, her tucked under his arm, for another few minutes before she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

Instead of speaking, Percy pulled her closer and pressed his nose into her hair.

"What are we doing?"

Her words made him pull away so he could look at her face. Red rimmed, shiny, grey eyes blinked up at him.

"Are you crying because of me- of us?"

"No, I just... Not just that. There's a lot of things, but I guess that's one of them." Percy raised his eyebrows and she carried on. "What are we doing, Percy? We've known each other less than a month and you're practically my best friend besides Piper, but give it a year and what will it matter. You're- You're you and you'll disappear on tour and forget about me."

He went to argue but Annabeth snapped and cut him off.

"You can deny it now but it's inevitable."

That statement stung.

"It's the truth. Everyone has their moments and then one day they just realise: I'm not worth it. It's what mom did, and then dad, then Clarisse and Malcolm and it's only a matter of time before it's Piper and you too."

"Annabeth..." He didn't know where to start but he needed to say something. "I can't speak for anyone else, I can't pretend to know what happened, but I can promise you I'm not going to disappear on a tour and forget you. It's practically impossible anyway, 70% of our set list is gonna be all these sappy songs I've written about you."

The words are out of his mouth before he can think about them.

"You wrote a song about me?" Her words are barely even a whisper but they make Percy's heart somersault.

No use hiding it now, Jackson.

"Several, actually."

He plays them - as many as he can remember - on Piper's 'decorative' guitar. It's out of tune so he has to start over again. When he reaches the first chorus, he glances up at her. Her cheeks are still wet and she's snivelling a little but she looks just as perfect as she always does.

_It's crazy, girl, Been a bit of a whirlwind_   
_Call me insane, all over you_   
_Can't even tell you it took me a while._

_I'm hopeless here, Head over heels_   
_Something my mama said rings true_   
_"The thing you fall in love with is a smile."_

Bile builds in his throat when he finishes. It's not even half of what he's written but he's afraid he's already pushed her too far. Rookie mistake. In 10 minutes, he'd managed to scare her off by declaring his undying, obsessive love for her despite only learning her name last month. She looks shocked. Percy sets the guitar back in the stand and bites his lip, expecting her to slap him or yell or tell him he's wasting his time, that he was a creep and she wanted nothing to do with him.

Spoiler alert: she doesn't.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the massive dump of chapters but as i have this story already posted elsewhere, i figure there's nothing holding me back aha

June 18th

Hanging out after 'the incident' is awkward at first, but they've adapted. Neither of them mention that their friendship had almost become Instagram official or that Percy had practically written an album of romantic ballads for her. Things are tense but not unbearable, and that is enough for the both of them.

Thursday night is movie night, Percy had announced, storming into her apartment that evening. He'd unpacked a bag of takeout food and 'The Hunger Games' box set on the kitchen table before Annabeth had been able to stop him.

"Percy! We have guests!"

Apparently they've reached the stage of friendship where you didn't need permission to show up at the other persons place, but maybe Percy needed to learn to drop a heads up. Behind Annabeth is Piper and four people Percy hasn't met before.

"Dam, I didn't bring enough food."

Thanks to Piper's Instagram and Annabeth's Youtube content, Percy recognises 2/4 of the people in front of him. Jason looks just as preppy in real life as he does in photos, though the small scar on his upper lip adds a certain level of mystery about him, until he informs Percy that it was due to him being a greedy toddler. Hazel, who is remarkably short compared to everyone else in the room, has an air of wisdom about her. She seems pleasant enough but the glare she sends Piper after she makes an offhand comment at her expense is enough to make Percy shiver. Her eyes are amber but the flecks of gold sprinkled in her irises makes him wonder whether she's even human. Frank is built like a wrestler with the attitude of an awkward pre-teen, an endearing combination of clumsy and smooth. Percy hadn't come across Frank amongst his media stalking, but it didn't take long to realise that he was the boyfriend Hazel often referred to. Leo is slim with curly black hair and impish features. Percy is informed that Piper was best friends with him in middle school and high school and when he cracks a joke about Percy's odd timing and heads straight to the takeout food, it's abundantly clear the boys are going to get along.

 _It's a good job these people are chill,_ Percy thinks as he introduces himself to them, _because I just stormed into the apartment with a plan to hijack Annabeth away from this perfectly pleasant get-together._

As it so happens, Jason is a big fan of the Hunger Games franchise so opts in on the movie marathon. The seven of them pile onto the couch in a heap and shove each other until they have enough space. Percy finds himself between Frank and Piper but before he can protest, Annabeth has wriggled her way over to sit on the floor at his feet, Luna in tow.

His brain numbs when she pushes herself up against the couch between his legs and gets comfortable. It hangs unspoken in the air between them, the weight of the last time they were in this room, Percy had serenaded her and they'd been so close to kissing that it had almost broke him to pull away. By the time he'd cleared his thoughts, Katniss was on the way to the Capitol.

Somewhere during the arena, Luna jumps into his lap and he sticks his tongue out at Annabeth.

(Leo comments that Luna knew something needed to stay hidden and suddenly Percy isn't so smug anymore.)

All the food is gone when they switch disks and Jason diplomatically decides it's the perfect time for a bathroom break and to replenish the snacks.

Much to everyone's disgust, Annabeth rolls her head and makes her neck click before getting up for a quick stretch. Concentrating on taking Luna out for her own bathroom break is easier than trying not to stare at Annabeth so Percy does the former, strolling up and down the sidewalk for a few moments and hoping the fresh air will clear his mind.

It works momentarily, but Annabeth's changed into pyjama shorts and a hoodie while he's been out and now his brain is just as muddled.

Hazel drifts off halfway through the third film and so Piper decides to wake her to get her into a bed.

"She can take mine." Annabeth offers from where she's curled at his feet. "I can stay on the couch for tonight."

Piper isn't very subtle about the wink she offers in response, but no one says anything about it.

A half hour later, Frank and Jason call it a night.

"I'm gonna head to bed, too." Piper says, getting up and tugging on Leo's arm. "Leo, you look tired, you should sleep as well." He looks as though he couldn't think of anything worse but does as she says, leaving Percy and Annabeth alone in the room.

Annabeth moves to sit beside Percy now that there's the space and he pretends not to notice the distance she's put between them.

They've both seen the movie before and they start to inch closer to each other in anticipation of the jump scares and by time the characters on screen are underground, Annabeth has a leg across his lap and his arm is around her shoulder, pulling her in. Percy catches a whiff of her lemon scented hair again and holds himself back before he can dwell on the last time he'd held her like this.

"Scared, Chase?" He teases when she tucks her head into the crook of his neck. When she shakes her head, her hair tickles his chin.

"Not a chance, Jackson."

They poke fun back and forth until the jump scare inevitably catches the both of them by surprise. Percy's laugh gets stuck in his throat when he realises that her arms have snakes around his torso beneath his jacket.

When the movie finishes, they're a mess of tangled limbs. He's sure that the feeling of her fingers against the skin of his exposed waist might be making him dizzy.

Annabeth isn't much better. Trying to remain composed around him was becoming difficult and part of her ached to kiss him right there and then. The other part of her knew that she needed to wait this out. Percy was a good guy - sure - but she was still sceptical. Better to hold back on getting too attached before it all went wrong. And who knows, she thinks maybe she would quite like something permanent with Percy.

It's nearing on 2am when he leaves the apartment and Annabeth's suddenly very glad that no one else was up to hear their ramblings (Annabeth is on the verge of tears when she tries to explain the significance of who sings what musical motif in Finale Ultimo of 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' because that's the important stuff right there and Percy contemplates whether fishes in different bodies of water would be able to communicate). Their nonsensical chats about which animal has the biggest heart - blue whale in case you're curious - may have brushed over their childhood traumas but there's only so many Daddy Issues jokes a person can make before you have to take the hint.

It's nice to have found someone to be so completely careless in conversation with. There's no need to tread carefully.

Annabeth's mind is whirring when she tries to get to sleep that night because the paranoia always hits when you need to shut down. She glances at the time, he's surely at his own apartment by now, probably asleep. Would it seem clingy if she text him?

 **absoluteannabeth** heyy thanks for the surprise movie night tonight, it was good to have you round. i'm sorry if i'm making you feel put aside and maybe we should talk about the other night but i guess i'm just not the most spontaneous person with stuff like this. just know i really appreciate you ♥

Annabeth hits send before she can change her mind but that doesn't prevent the lingering feeling of regret or the image of her message burnt into her eyelids when she screws them shut. She hopes he doesn't need her to spell out that she has feelings for him. It must be pretty clear by now.

When she thinks about Percy, she can envision something solid, permanent, the idea is enough to terrify her. It's all she's wanted. Call it cliché but unwavering love, a stable home and a perfect family is something she's dreamt about since she was a kid. It's the polar opposite of how she grew up.

Frederick Chase is a kind man, but smarter in intellect than emotions. He'd been understanding of his high school sweethearts choice to split so she could raise the baby without interrupting his studies, but things never did work out like that and Athena fell ill during her pregnancy. A baby no longer seemed so appealing and so when the system got hold of the kid, they made sure to send her to her family: Frederick.

Maybe Annabeth would've had a better childhood if she'd grown up with her aunt and cousin instead of her dad.

She shouldn't complain, things had been good for a few years. Frederick knew what a kid needed and Annabeth was disciplined enough not to bother him while he worked, but then he fell in love and she was put aside for her brothers. Frederick just didn't have the patience for three children and Annabeth was a big girl, she could look after herself.

FYI: she couldn't and she did work that out, but that's a whole other story.

Anything that Annabeth had once had, was now gone. Nothing lasted more than a few years and she was always left to piece together the shattered glass and crumbled ruins of what she'd grown used to. She didn't want Percy to be the same.

 **percyjackson** **18** no worries at all. maybe talking would be sensible but i get it, take all the time you need. don't worry about me, i don't wanna pressure you into something you don't want. i'm too impulsive and i think i pushed us too soon. i'm sorry x

She doesn't reply. Instead, she opens Instagram and posts something that's bit sitting in her drafts since the night he'd sung to her. It takes her a moment to think of a caption but she does and she tags him in it before pressing share.

In the photo, he's beaming at her face behind the camera. She'd been laughing at his childish antics while he'd been playing guitar and passionately singing to himself. It had already been posted on her snapchat but she didn't have 'followers' on that in the way she did on instagram, only a few of her friends.

 **absoluteannabeth** heart of a blue whale but seaweed for brains ♛


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter for today and i'll spam the updates again soon

June 19th

"Mom!" Percy was bright pink and very thankful that she couldn't see his face over the phone.

"Well, I think abundantly clear, my love, though she did say you had seaweed for brains."

"Remind me why I rang you again?"

Sally laughs. "Because you need your mama to fix your girl troubles, sweetheart. Give her time if you say that's what she needs, but she cares for you. That much is clear."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." He tried to make himself sound annoyed but the smile in his voice was obvious. "We still on for dinner on Saturday?"

Percy heard the key turn in the lock before Sally spoke again. "Of course, it's all Stella's been talking about." The door clicked shut. "I've got to go, love, but I'll speak to you soon."

"Bye, mom. Thanks for your advice."

"Anytime, Percy. Stay safe. I love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as he put the phone down, Thalia was at his shoulder.

"Advice from the legendary Sally Jackson? What do you need fixing this time?"

He put the guitar strap over his shoulder and stepped away from her, trying to get some space.

"Nothin, Thals."

They were in the studio for the first time since they'd toured. There was no deadline or to-do list of what had to be recorded, but they planned to make a few demos to help get started.

"It's because of that Instagram post, right?" Nico asked, opening a fresh set of drum sticks.

Percy shrugged off the question and strummed a few chords to distract himself.

By that afternoon, they'd managed to record the demos for several new songs. Thalia and Nico had written a few songs themselves but they were all working titles, nothing set in stone. After some convincing, Percy had agreed to let them record 'Daydream', one of the better songs he'd written about Annabeth, on the condition that the demo didn't travel. No one was to hear this besides Annabeth, at least until he worked out what was going on between them.

Chiron arrived when they were packing up to give them the rundown of the next few months. A mock album needed to be ready by the end of July, the singles needed to be released over August, the first being their summer song, and the album would go public in September. Already, Chiron was booking venues for next year's tour and the thought alone made Percy tired and aching for a nap. When he'd finished, he called Percy aside.

"Percy, son," His voice was stern and made Percy feel uneasy. Chiron had been The Halfbloods manager for the entirety of their career since he'd discovered them in 10th grade, he acted as somewhat of a father figure for the three of them seen as their own fathers were never present. "I don't know what the deal is between you and that young lady, what happens behind closed doors is none of my business, but I implore you take things steady. We don't want any bad press about this. Treat her right, as I know you will."

Apparently that was all Chiron had to say. Watching him walk off, Percy noted the strange feeling burning in his chest. His hand curled into a fist. It wasn't Chiron's fault, he was a good guy and it was Percy who had signed himself away for a stupid contract, but the anger that built didn't seem to care who's fault it was. How come Percy needed permission to 'take things steady' with Annabeth? He knows what Chiron was trying to do: warn Percy - you can do what you want, but don't let it come off badly on the band. It was frustrating, but he tried to understand. This wasn't just his career the press had the power to ruin, it was Nico's and Thalia's too. And Annabeth's now that she was tangled up in this mess.

~~~

June 20th

Annabeth's phone had not stopped buzzing. She'd logged out of Instagram to try and get some peace but it had barely made a difference, her phone was still constantly lighting up.

So maybe the impulsive decision to post that photo the other day hadn't been her best idea.

The comments were nothing but positive, several were claiming they knew it all along (Annabeth wasn't sure what ' _it'_ they were referring to) and many noting how cute it was that they were hanging out. The only comment that mattered to her, though, was Percy's. After she'd posted it, he'd sent her a single photo of himself smiling softly with several hearts drawn on around his face.

Since she'd posted, her follower count was tentatively dancing upwards. Presumably, the new followers were in it for the romance — that made the most sense. It stung that they weren't there because of her or her content, but she supposed that's just how it worked.

Filming videos had always been a creative outlet for her, and things were no different now. Her first musical theatre themed video was scheduled to upload at 5pm and she was genuinely excited to find out what her followers thought of it. Annabeth was also debating posting another cover, she had a few recorded but wasn't sure which she preferred.

'You're always your own worst critic.'

The words echoed in her head. They were true, sure, but someone had to be critical. She didn't want to post something and totally embarrass herself. Give her a few days to mull it over and she might consider uploading one.


	11. Chapter 11

June 24th

**hiding in your hands, by annabeth chase**

2.3M views

71K likes

1.2K dislikes

3.5K comments

"Beth!" Piper squealed as she flung open her bedroom door. Behind her was a very dazed looking Jason and Leo.

Annabeth's eyes widened when she saw that Piper was only half dressed and clad in jeans and a bra. "What's going on?"

"Your video! I'm so proud of you! I genuinely didn't think you would post another but wow, your reach is bigger than normal too, you must be doing something right!"

While Piper was babbling, Annabeth took a minute to take in the scene before her. Over her shoulder was Jason, bright red and trying hard to look anywhere but Piper. Leo was holding Luna, generally quite oblivious to what anyone was saying and instead had chosen to reenact the lion king with her pet.

"Why is this so important that you couldn't finish getting dressed?" Annabeth asked as Piper started reading off the videos stats and comments. Apparently celebrations couldn't be put off and Piper set her heart on going out for a dinner that night as a congratulations to Annabeth.

"Can I book a table for five under McLean, please? Yeah, seven thirty sounds perfect, thank you."

"Who's the fifth? You didn't book us a table with Luna did you? Piper, you know she can't come in.." Leo whined and cuddled Luna to his chest. Jason coughed to cover his comment about the last time they tried to bring in Luna but he was quick to shut up after a glare from Piper.

Smirking at Annabeth, Piper answered. "Go ahead, invite him."

**absoluteannabeth** hey, you free tonight?

Determined to act casual, Annabeth puts her phone down and starts to get on with her work again. Her phone makes a strange growling noise from where it lays on her bed and she snorts when she remembers that she'd asked Percy to record his own ringtone. Annabeth stares at her laptop screen for a few minutes and her fingers tap the keys too lightly to type anything before she gives in and checks her phone.

Leo calls loudly from the other room. "Whipped!" Judging from his squeal afterwards, someone had thrown something at him on Annabeth's behalf.

**percyjackson18** if this is an offer to hang out with you then i can be free :)

**absoluteannabeth** sorry to disappoint but its the whole crew (-hazel and frank)

**percyjackson18** whats the occasion

**absoluteannabeth** piper wants to celebrate my new vid so were going out for dinner

**percyjackson18** ill be there

**percyjackson18** dress code?

After conferring with Piper she sent a reply.

**absoluteannabeth** on a scale of 1-10, 1 being casual, 10 being ballgowns, piper says its a 6.5

**percyjackson18** oddly specific but thanks

"Tell him to be here for 7!" Piper shouted.

**absoluteannabeth** piper wants us ready for 7 but be here before for picsss ;)

**percyjackson18** ill bring my modelling face

Somehow, the rest of the day passes painfully slowly. Annabeth manages to edit some of her recent footage and films a little more for the weekly vlog. For a second, she debates vlogging some of the night but eventually she decides against it; some things she preferred to keep to herself.

At 5:30, Piper was insisting that Annabeth got ready for the night. It was a little excessive, especially since Piper was all about quick and effortless makeup looks, but for once Annabeth didn't put up a fight. It was actually something she rather enjoyed. Piper danced around the room with various sticks and palettes and brushes humming to herself and chattering to her roommate.

After the grand makeover Annabeth received, Piper did her own eyeliner and called it a day, deciding not to 'go all out'. They relocated to Annabeth's room to scavenge through her closet for something suitable for the night, granted the closet consisted of Ravenclaw jumpers, old summer camp shirts and leggings but they were hunting for something a bit classier for tonight.

Eventually, Piper discovered the small collection of dresses Annabeth had accumulated from presentation evenings and awards ceremonies she'd been to through her high school and university years. There were several dresses of a similar style: floral and fitted with short sleeves and a flowing skirt, but the girls were drawn to something else.

Annabeth distinctly remembers her stepmom buying her this dress when she'd turned 18. At the time, she'd wanted to burn it. It was simple and a bit too low cut for her liking but when she tries it on, she's more than happy with how it looks. The straps are thin and the bodice is tight so she opts not to wear a bra underneath - she doesn't care how insecure the idea makes her feel because she feels sexy.

It's strange, Annabeth's never been particularly unattractive. There was a phase in her teens where her skin had been spotty and she'd cried because she'd been convinced she should have a thigh gap, but aside from that, she knew she was lucky. She'd always been cute or pretty, but when she posed in front of her mirror, she felt seriously beautiful.

"Damn, Annabeth," Leo comments when she goes to find some shoes. Jason elbows him and he huffs. "What? She's not got a boyfriend yet? At least not until he sees her in that."

The feminist part of her wants to comment that her appearance shouldn't alter anyone's opinion of her and certainly shouldn't be the sole reason someone wanted to date her but she knows he didn't mean it like that. Also she felt pretty fine so she wasn't going to complain.

Leo and Jason had tidied up quite nicely. It's the first time Annabeth had seen Leo in a shirt that wasn't stained with oil, grease or fast food so in comparison, he looked smart. Someone, presumably Piper, had tried to get a comb through his hair and it looked lighter and larger than it had an hour ago. Jason usually dressed smart so it was no surprise to see him in a pressed shirt, smart trousers and a thin tie.

Piper was storming around the apartment in her elegant heels in search for something Leo had unsurprisingly hidden from her.

Just as Annabeth went to check the time, there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

He looked... nice.

Okay, understatement of the century. Percy looked dashing in a crisp, white shirt, pressed trousers and navy blue blazer. His unruly hair had been slicked neatly to one side and his eyes were sparkling (this was not something he'd done per se, but something Annabeth considered to add to the outfit, it was the one thing that made her require a reminder not to drool).

He caught her staring and smirked. "I told you I'd bring my modelling face."


	12. Chapter 12

June 24th

Annabeth hadn't been lying about wanting to get some photos. There had been 20 minutes before they needed to make their way to the restaurant and everyone had been posing as per Piper's orders. Each of them had a photo by themselves, Jason and Piper took some sweet 'couple-y' photos, (Leo photobombed the last few) and Annabeth had wanted a few of herself and Piper to post on Instagram. But Piper has insisted Percy join them for a group photo before he got some alone with Annabeth.

He cleared his throat as someone shoved him into the frame. Annabeth looked stunning tonight and Percy's heart threatened to leap out of his mouth and at her when she placed a hand to his chest for a photo. Trying to look calm, he slipped a hand around her waist and smiled.

"Gotta take some goofy ones," Annabeth whispered, lifting his arm to around her shoulders and pulling a face at the camera. Immediately he followed suit and they danced about childishly together.

It wasn't until he had her mid spin until he realised what he was doing. His hand reached for her waist and he took her weight as he dipped her. Annabeth let out a squeak of surprise but when her grey eyes met his, she calmed. Almost as quickly as he'd gotten them into this situation, he helped her up. Awkwardly, they both smoothed out their clothes and glanced to the door.

"We should be off." Piper spoke as though nothing had happened, grabbing her purse and pulling Jason and Leo out of the door.

For a moment, they stood in silence and just looked at each other. Annabeth was the first to speak.

"Your collar is crooked."

With that, she was fixing his collar. Her fingers brushed his neck and Percy prayed to any higher power he could think of that she couldn't feel his heartbeat or see the flush of pink that was inevitably creeping up his throat. His chest felt tight and he forced himself to look away from her.

Tentatively, he offered her his hand. "Shall we?"

~~~

The restaurant was beyond classy and Percy felt slightly out of place. Despite his rise to fame and the makeovers that came alongside the constant press, places like this that required smart shoes and pants other than jeans weren't really his scene. Apparently Piper's dad was a big name in the movie industry and she'd cashed in a favor he had with the chef to get them the table tonight.

It was a beautiful building with high ceilings and marble archways. Honestly, Percy didn't care for interior design or architecture but from the look of awe on Annabeth's face, Piper had chosen this place for a reason. As they were seated, Annabeth gushed about the structural supports and materialistic choices the architect had made. He didn't understand anything she said but maybe that was because his brain had turned to mush the moment he laid eyes on her.

Their table was tucked away in a small alcove, something he suspected was a personal request. There was six chairs but Piper set her purse on the one in the far corner and sat beside it. Ever the obedient boyfriend, Jason sat beside her and Leo opposite him, leaving Percy and Annabeth flitting around the two empty chairs. Annabeth's coat is surprisingly heavy for faux fur, something he notices as he helps it off her shoulders and drapes it over her chair.

"We are gathered here today.." Piper begins to toast once their drinks have arrived. "to celebrate the success of Annabeth's channel and the start of her new music career." The boys echo her sentiment and lift their glasses to make them chime.

The chorus of "To Annabeth" that follows is certainly not discrete but none of them think anything of it. There's something so magical about the moment, the five of them dressed smartly and choosing from the fanciest menu Percy thinks he's ever seen (he doesn't dare look at the prices because despite the amount of money in his wallet, expensive meals always make him cringe). It takes everything in him not to outright stare at Annabeth when she takes a sip of her drink and the reflection of the decorative candle sparkles in her eyes. She looks like she could be in a movie.

Jason's eyes widen but the damage has already been done.

When he whips his head round, he's met with a teenage girl with a phone held up in front of her face. Annabeth doesn't even look and instead keeps her eyes trained on Piper. The diplomat amongst them, Jason, stands and goes to talk to her, probably hoping to convince her to delete the footage.

Annabeth's eyes are glistening when she turns her head in his direction and despite his friendly nature, Percy suddenly wants to smite the poor girl that caught them by surprise.

"Just one night, is that too much to ask?" She sighs and twirls a strand of hair around her finger.

For a few minutes, they sit in awkward silence until Jason returns and is quickly followed by their food orders. "I told her not to post it. Said something about safety and not wanting to people to know our location so I reckon we've got until at least tomorrow before she does anything. She's a fan and wants to celebrate you guys but she had the decency to look guilty."

Annabeth nods and twists a fork into her spaghetti. After a quick glance around to be sure there's no teenage stalkers nearby, Percy takes her free hand in his and gives it a reassuring squeeze.They hold hands for a minute but she's quick to wiggle her hand free. Right. She didn't want to get caught with him.

It stings but he understands.

"So," Leo clears his throat and tries to change the subject. "Annabeth, what's the dream with this new music career then? An original album? EP? World domination?"

Finally smiling again, she answers. "An album would be nice I guess, nothing serious though, just covers. I've heard too many original songs to be able to compete." Percy's face feels hot. "But honestly? Theatre would be nice. I've not done a show for a while and I'd love to be able to perform again."

"What's the dream role? Isn't Legally Blonde a musical nowadays? You'd suit that."

Annabeth scoffs. "Elle Woods is certainly up there, sure."

"Regina George?"

"That's typecasting, Piper, as much as I'd love playing the villain, I'm more of a Cady."

"Glinda?"

The laugh she lets out dissolves any of the tension left in her shoulders. "Please, I am not a soprano."


	13. Chapter 13

June 25th

Jason was right about the girl not posting anything that day. Annabeth had almost let herself believe they'd gotten away with it, but alas, the morning came and it was all over her twitter.

It was actually a sweet photo. Jason was the only one that had spotted the camera but the image was snapped before he'd processed it so he didn't look too frustrated. Piper, the only other person facing the character, was laughing at something Leo had said and looked radiant, the highlight that she'd dusted over her cheekbones (or maybe it was just her natural glow) sparkled and her lips were opened and spread into a wide smile. The backs of her and Leo's heads were recognisable but not very interesting. What she was really drawn to though was the way Percy was looking at her. The photo only included his side profile as he'd sat with his back to the camera, but it captured his small smile perfectly. She hadn't even known he'd been watching her.

She sent the post to Percy and typed a message.

**absoluteannabeth** like what you see? ;)

The word 'Seen' appears below her message and suddenly her phone is ringing, a Facetime call.

"What do you want, Seaweed Brain?" She rolls her eyes as his face appears on her screen.

He's clearly just woken up and she feels her face flush when she catches the muscles of his bare shoulder ripple as he rolls onto his front. "Just needed to see you first thing in the morning so that I could remember you don't always look like a goddess." Annabeth is definitely pink now. "But I see that you're already awake and beautiful as ever."

"You flatter me, Jackson, but you're lying. I've just got back from a run, I look like a tomato."

He rolls his eyes and runs a hand through his horrific bed hair. "Shut up, Chase, you know you look gorgeous."

She wants to believe he's joking, he's certainly exaggerating that's for sure, but the look in his eyes is so sincere and gentle that Annabeth feels her brain melt.

Lately, she's been trying to pretend that they're not head-over-heels in love with each other. It's difficult to ignore when he takes her coat at the restaurant or when she offers him a foot rub when he gets stressed from his album deadlines (Annabeth is very thankful that he doesn't take her up on it) and they're just so devoted to making each other more comfortable. It's sickening when she reminds herself they've only known each other a month. The sappy part of her that grew up on romance and revolutionary YA novels wishes it was more of a slow burn but the ADHD in her wants to start shopping for a white dress.

The next few months of Annabeth's life are dedicated to her music career. Of course, her content is still thriving and the subscribers that are there for the dog footage, book reviews and advice videos are kept satisfied - Annabeth could never neglect that part of herself - but it's nice to have a creative outlet and music had always been her secret passion. By the end of July she's posted a total of 17 covers ranging from a sweet ukulele rendition of 'La Vie en Rose' to a broadway worthy performance of Anastasia's 'In My Dreams'. On many occasions everything had all been lined up to post on her laptop but Piper had been summoned to hit 'share' before Annabeth could talk herself out of it.

Amidst working on his next album, Percy had been able to convince her to try out for open casting calls when she had the chance. They both new her dream was broadway and many late night confessions revealed that Annabeth and Sally Jackson shared a mutual love over 'Waitress' and also that though she'd love to play Zoe Murphy, she would actually prefer to play Heidi Hansen when she was older.

She had begged him one night to sing a duet with her, not to post - she was selfish and wanted him to herself for now. Though Annabeth would never be egotistical enough to gloat about the sound of her own voice, she didn't refrain from listening back to the recording of 'Seventeen' and marvelling at the way she sounds lighter over the rich tone of Percy's tenor. From then on, Annabeth would send him links to songs she needs him to learn because she wants to sing them with him. It's every theatre girls dream, isn't it? To have a duet partner handy whenever they wish.

He'd used it as a birthday gift. Percy had taken her out to dinner, just the two of them - neither of them had said the word 'date' out loud but they didn't need to. He had it all planned out. After dinner, they'd gone to his apartment and he'd given her the present he'd bought: a new microphone for her recording equipment and a treble clef charm to go onto her necklace. Honestly, she felt a bit like Gabriella Montez when she asked him to add the charm and clasp the necklace round her neck but she supposed that there were worse characters to identify with. They'd spent the rest of her birthday just singing and, as promised, he'd learnt every duet she'd sent to him. Although he didn't consider himself a fan of musical theatre, Annabeth did try to convince him that their rendition of 'What You Mean To Me' was good enough to rival Alfie Boe and Laura Michelle Kelly.

Okay, maybe it wasn't as good as theirs. But it was beautiful nonetheless.

She should've sensed that things were going too well.

There'd been a recent open audition for ensemble in a limited run of 'Sister Act' and Annabeth had been so close to getting in, possibly even a second cover of Maria if she crossed enough fingers in prayer, but she'd hit a bum note at her callback and they'd realised that she wasn't much of a legit singer anyway. So she'd skulked back to her apartment feeling pretty crappy about herself. Percy was there, because he always was, and he'd swept her up in his arms like a regular old Prince Charming offering cookies and a hot chocolate.

"It was just so awful, I literally saw their faces drop. I feel terrible."

"Hey, it's no bother. There'll be other auditions, right?" His words were reassuring and so Annabeth nodded, still rather frustrated with herself. "Hey, I've got a cousin who's a patron at a few big named theatres, maybe he could give you a boost? Stick your name on a few lists to get your on the radar?"

Her soft expression turned steely. "No."

Annabeth tries to avoid hitting him when he mumbles "Gee, okay, I was only trying to help." under his breath like a moody, impossible teenager.

"I appreciate that, I do, but this is something I have to do by myself. The industry's difficult but I want to know that I'm good enough. That's never going to happen if I use all your contacts to sneak my way in."

"With all due respect, Annabeth, maybe that's what you need to do. You said it yourself: the industry's difficult. You're gonna need all the help you can get."

Her eyes narrow as she lifts her head to look at him. "You don't think I'm good enough." It's a statement, not a question. From the way his eyes settle on her face and eyebrows draw together, he knows he's hurt her.

"Beth, don't be so prideful." Percy rolled his eyes. "I never said you couldn't, but why would you turn away help? You'd still get to where you wanted to be. No one would give you the part if they genuinely thought you weren't good enough."

Annabeth was swallowing down the tears that were threatening to fall. He's still talking, probably trying to back himself out of the corner he's trapped in.

"No, Percy, it doesn't matter. Screw you and your fancy contacts. I can do this on my own."

It's impossible not to meet his eyes when they're boring into her like they are now. He blinks a few times before he speaks again.

"What are you doing? I got you half of these auditions, you know? You're being rash, you couldn't do this without me."

Oh, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Get out."

There's a pause in which they both try to process what she's saying, she catches on before he does.

"Get out of my apartment." There are tears fighting in her eyes but she doesn't notice for the anger that bubbles in her gut. "I'm not a baby, Percy, not some little side project for you to work on whenever you've had enough of your day job. I can do this on my own, I'm not stupid. I know my way around the industry and I don't need you and all your friends to name drop me in order to get a callback."

He's finally caught on. "Annabeth, what? Don't- don't cut your nose of to spite your face."

"Clever idiom, Percy, bet you couldn't spout that without me. Guess we're both useless without each other!"

Annabeth's senses are on hyper speed. She notices the way he swallows, the way he tucks his hands into his front pockets. His head tips forward and he doesn't meet her eyes, he couldn't anyway for the layer of his hair that forms are barrier between them, the blackness concealing the green eyes that had drawn her in to begin with, before they were even an option. It's like watching him shrink, he's slouching to protect himself and make himself smaller. He'd never done this before, but then again, they'd never fallen out like this before.

There's a moment of silence when Percy takes a deep breath and then he nods. His head is still facing the floor so the nod looks a little broken and pathetic but she doesn't care.

He leaves and Annabeth is left staring at the closed door behind him. She knows that maybe she's overreacting, maybe he didn't mean to call her useless and suggest she needs help to achieve anything, but the way the words replay in her head and echo everything anyone she loved had always told her makes her feel sick.

_You're useless, Annabeth. I always have to help you. You're a big girl now, do it yourself._

_You're not going to be able to do it alone, you know? Just let me._

_You wonder why everyone hates you? Because you're full of yourself! You think you're so much better than me? Fine, go ahead. You'll only get it wrong without me._

The tears are burning tracks down her face so Annabeth wipes them away quickly. She can't let Piper find her like this.


	14. Chapter 14

July 31st

Percy had spent the day moping. On several occasions, Thalia had snapped at him to get his head back onto the album and Nico had smacked his arm with a drumstick to get his attention. It was no use.

He'd royally messed up.

He didn't pretend to understand half the things Annabeth had been through, they'd never explicitly talked about their own traumas, but it was obvious he'd hit a nerve. Percy only wanted to help. All he'd ever wanted to do was help.

Dozens of messages were left on a notes page on his phone and he hadn't had the guts to send her one. Besides, he was hurting too. This wasn't the first time Percy had failed someone.

There had been a moment where he'd felt so useless, she was upset and was making sure he knew it, but the realisation that he'd lived that scene many times knocked the air out of his lungs and made him feel so young again, longing to go home to curl up on his mom's lap like he always used to.

The moment with Annabeth became the memory of Grover crying to him in secret in the boys bathrooms in 3rd period because someone had made a comment about his leg and Nancy had shoved him to the floor again. And young, naïve Percy was there beside his friend with his plastered knees and bruises of his own wishing he'd been there to help Grover off of the floor and back to his crutches. It was Sally's stern look when he'd arrived back at their apartment with flushed cheeks and wet hair, ranting about the days happenings before realising that he needed to shut up. Gabe couldn't hear him being so ungrateful for the school tuition his gambling was funding. It was the way her eyes softened as Percy's face dropped and he knew his mom was so sorry for everything but right now there was nothing she could do. There was a new purple mark on her wrist where Gabe had grabbed her the night before. Percy's vision had blurred. It never stopped. It had been the way that he'd held his baby sister the day she was born and cried because she was perfect. She was precious and the world was cruel and harsh and there was nothing he could do to fix it for her. For anyone.

It was the helplessness he had felt his whole life and once again, Percy couldn't do anything.

He knew he should message Annabeth, at least just to apologise for making her feel useless. She's not useless in the slightest. She's resourceful and intelligent and beyond talented, but she's also prideful. Annabeth deserved to be recognised for her abilities but god forbid anyone should try and help her with it.

"Percy! That was your cue! Gods, what is with you today?" Thalia waved to the guys in the sound booth dismissively and stalked over to where Percy was lent against an amp.

"It's nothing, Thals, I'm okay."

"I never asked how you felt, dingus, but if you're gonna insist you're fine then something's definitely wrong." She knew him too well.

It supposedly came with the territory. The three of them, Percy, Nico and Thalia, had grown up together. They'd been grouped up for a music assignment in 10th Grade and never really looked back. It wasn't until their first semi-professional gig at a wedding that they realised they were cousins - and that was only because their fathers had all shown up as guests and caused so much of a scene that they'd been kicked off the premises. Having the three brothers in one room tearing each other apart and dismissing any inkling of pride they might have for their child really demonstrates the state of their happy family.

"Annabeth and I fell out."

Nico hums and passes him the songwriting notebook but it's quickly shoved away. "C'mon, Perce, we need an angsty rock number from you right about now, all this love crap's getting old."

"Tell that to yourself. You and Will were pining all of last year if I remember correctly." Thalia comments before nudging Percy. "I'm sure you and Annabeth are just going through a rough patch, besides, you're not even dating yet and you care enough to feel bad after your first fight." Her tone is accusing but he knows she means well.

"I don't know, she seemed really upset. I think I hit sore spot."

"You worry too much." Nico chuckles.

Thalia rolls her eyes. "It's because he's the softie of the three of us."

Percy thinks she's probably right, growing up so close with his mom had certainly made him more gentle and kindhearted, but there was the other side of him that came with not having a father figure until Chiron came along. That part of him was sharp and angry. That was the part of him that Chiron had put him in therapy for, along with getting him a personal trainer who could help him "channel his anger into something revitalising and useful".

Their recording session ends a few painful hours later and Percy decides that maybe he should take the time to follow Nico's advice and write another song. Their demos needed to be submitted by Saturday but that gave him a whole 48 hours to get some kind of outline recorded.

His apartment is empty and there's a note scrawled out on the kitchen counter.

_At Juniper's. I'll be back later but don't wait up for me. -G_

When he lifts his guitar, he's reminded of his mom. This particular guitar was Percy's most treasured, sure he had three guitars of his own now: his precious Gibson SJ-200 Deluxe, the first thing he'd treated himself to with his rockstar paycheck and the royal blue electric guitar his dad had funded for his 16th but then there was his favorite. It had admittedly seen better days and the strings were getting stiff - probably in need of another replacement - but it was just as special to him as the day he'd got it.

Sally had saved for months to get him this guitar. It was nothing special, a basic acoustic one of the neighbors was selling when their son moved out and so Sally was able to buy Percy's present in time for his 12th birthday. They'd both been so excited when he'd strummed the out of tune strings for the first time. He'd promised to only play guitar when Gabe was out of the apartment (which got to be a smaller window as time went on, but they weren't to know) and Sally had listened intently to the simple sequences of chords he'd been able to muster from his grade school music lessons. It was their little moment of peace away from everything. Just holding the guitar took Percy back ten years.

E minor.

It's Percy's favorite chord - yes, it's a weird thing to have a preference over, he knows - because it's the first one he mastered and the easiest to play. One finger over the second fret on the second and third strings. His music teacher used to chastise him for pulling the strings together instead of using two fingers but by that point it was a habit he was stuck in.

He thumbed a scale to help himself into the right key before he picked a progression.

The words flowed easily once he'd gotten into the swing of it, they always did when something significant happened. His first song was written when they'd finally been rid of Gabe and they'd been on a visit to Montauk. The sea had always been one of Percy's safe spaces because of the way the waves would smash, wild and unforgiving, before dissolving into sea foam and retreating. When he was feeling poetic, he would compare himself to the sea and twist it into some angst ridden lyrics. It makes for a good song.

_Break my heart, like they all do_

_I'm hurting, girl, because of you_

_Can't help but take it back last night_

_The things I said, I know weren't right_

_Knock one back and call it a day_

_A round or so more, thats child's play_

_Blame it on the beer when the phone starts ringing_

_You won't catch me saying this, you'll only catch me singing_

_I'd do anything to see you smile_

_Leave me broken in a ruined pile_

_Beat me back and blue, nothing will matter_

_I'll give you my heart if you want it to shatter_


	15. Chapter 15

August 3rd

3 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes. Each second that passed on the clock felt like a sharp slap to the face.

He had sent a message in the end, the night he'd written the song.

**percyjackson18** i'm so sorry, we need to talk but i need to figure myself out first, i don't want to just forget about it. i need to fix it properly and i will, promise x

Unsurprisingly, he got no reply from her. He did get something from Piper and Leo though, which is an harsh contrast to their prior messages of comedy videos and lighthearted messages.

**hyperpiper** she won't tell me what happened but she knows she's overreacting, i can tell because she looks ashamed whenever she chats bull about you. you're a good guy, jackson, i just hope the pair of you can work it out

**alldaladieslove.leo** chicks, hey?

**alldaladieslove.leo** but srsly dude, hope youre okay. annabeth's not but she will be

He knows Leo's only trying to help but the words are hardly reassuring.

Percy's at the gym. He wants to punch something, he wants to feel powerful. Once again, he's grateful that Chiron made him channel that anger into something that wouldn't hurt anyone.

The punchbag swings back in his face. The receptionist, a muscly, bald man with a goatee gives him a strange look but Percy's too far gone to really care. He knows he's not using the equipment properly or even safely but he just needs a moment to let it out. Then he'll move on to weights.

For the next few days, this becomes his routine. The Halfbloods song of the summer was announced on the Saturday and there was a seven day countdown on its release. Percy hadn't written this one, Thalia had, but he had to admit it was pretty good. 'Up All Night' was a basic 4/4 sequence but the lyrics were really good and Thalia had been so proud of the hook she'd come up with for the melody line. It was going to be a hit.

The weeks countdown for the song felt like an expiry date for him and Annabeth. They'd managed to avoid each other thus far and he was growing anxious to see her again. His therapist had encouraged to reach out in a 'non confrontational manner' and then leave the ball in her court. So that's what he did, he typed out another message to her and hovered over the 'send' button before just closing his eyes and letting his finger fall. There, he can pretend it was an accident.

**percyjackson18** can we talk? i miss you

He tries to forget about it after that. It's scary to think that their entire relationship rested on her reply. Not that they had a relationship. In the last two months, Annabeth had come to rival Grover in the position of 'best friend', but he would never dare say they had a relationship. It might insinuate that there was something there. And sure, there was for him, but he didn't want to pressure her.

The hour that passes before she sends a reply feels like a constant weight that builds on his shoulders (which are already aching from his morning using the weights). The buzz of his phone nearly knocks him off his feet because that's her. She's okay. She's not completely ignoring him.

**absoluteannabeth** i'm sorry too. you didn't deserve to be blanked like that

There's a little typing bubble that ripples for as long as it takes him to read her first message.

**absoluteannabeth** the cafe? at 6? maybe we can start over. i owe you an explanation.

~~~

The cafe was empty when he arrived, save for a young woman behind the counter. Percy figured she must be on a break and working the summer hours shift like he'd done when he was her age.

The young woman, Hestia - he read from her badge, offered him a soft smile when he nodded to her and took the table in the back corner. It was only 5:45 but he was desperate to see Annabeth so he'd left his apartment before he'd needed to, dropping a text to Grover to explain where he was off.

Annabeth was early too. He'd only just sat down when the bell above the door tinkled and there she was.

Look, Percy wasn't in the habit of drooling over pretty girls. He'd had a girlfriend in high school but it was never very serious and truthfully, he hadn't been that invested. There was something different about Annabeth. She was rough around the edges yet still incredible. She was so smart and intuitive and yet she was able to relax and laugh with him like they'd been friends for years. And she was beautiful. Not beautiful in the way Percy recognised other girls to be. He's not stupid - he knows girls like Piper and Thalia are attractive - but Annabeth is gorgeous.

He had to bite his lip to keep it shut.

"Hey, Perce." She clears her throat.

Trying his best to act normal to help ease her nerves, he smiles. "Hey, you. Take a seat, I'll order. Your usual?"

When she nods tentatively he moves to the counter. Hestia is quieter than Demeter and so Percy stands in silence as she works. In his head, he's thinking of a million things he should say to Annabeth, but none of them feel right. None of them can explain why her reaction bothered him. But first, he wants to understand her point of view.

They walk down the bank with their drinks, Percy kicking the curb and Annabeth rolling her eyes fondly. After a few blocks of silence, she speaks up.

"I guess I owe you an explanation." Her voice catches but she coughs to try and hide it. "I should probably start at the beginning."

Percy keeps quiet the entire time she's talking. His heart aches when she tells him about her parents, her stern mother that she only remembers from the library of books she left on the shelf, her dad who never really knew how to parent and a stepmom that had some kind of a resentment for Annabeth. At some point during her spiel, her voice quivers and she swallows hard. His hand slips into hers instinctively.

For 20 minutes, Annabeth puts all her cards out to him. There's a girl, Clarisse, who she'd grown up with. She talks of Clarisse fondly, telling him all about their competitive challenges and friendly bickering. And then one day something must have changed and Annabeth was left alone. Again.

"And the same goes for everyone else. Everyone's so adamant that they can help, that I need them to function and yet they're out of my life at the first opportunity. I'm just waiting on the day that Piper realises and off she goes with all her friends. Hell, Percy, it's only a matter of time before you work out that you don't want this." Her head dips towards their interlinked fingers.

Percy's drink is long gone, thrown in a trash can a few blocks back, so he's able to pull her closer and throw an arm around her shoulder. She's tense against him for a split second before she hums and tucks herself against his torso. Unsure of what comfort he could offer without making promises, Percy just holds her for as long as she needs. Their footsteps are in sync.

"Your turn?" When she speaks, he frowns. He hadn't told her that he was feeling vulnerable too. "C'mon, Perce, you said you needed to sort yourself out. What was that about?"

The words tumble out of his mouth, all of it. His dad, Grover and the kids at school, Gabe. There's so much he can't say about Gabe but she's able to fill in the blanks. When he stumbles over his words, Annabeth leans into him and mutters her reassurances.

He hasn't spoken about Gabe outside of therapy. It was a sensitive subject in the Blofis (neé Jackson) household, especially now that Estelle understands more, and he'd never really spoken to his mom about him. He could, of course he could, his mom would hide any hurt she would feel when he made her relive everything that happened, but he couldn't make her do that. Annabeth doesn't need to understand everything, but she understand enough.

They're sat in the park until 11 that night, just talking and holding each other. When it's clear that everything has been said, he walks her back to her apartment. On the steps of her building, Percy pulls her in for a hug and there's a moment when she looks up at him and he so wants to kiss her. Not here. Not now.

He's not going to push it, but he thinks they both know that there will be a time when he can drop her off at her building and they can part ways with a kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

August 7th

His apartment was crowded when she arrived for dinner. There were people Annabeth was unfamiliar with and people she barely recognised, but she couldn't see Percy. Spotting a familiar face, she headed towards where Grover was sat.

There was a girl beside him with straight, strawberry blonde hair so long that it gathered a little on the seat of the couch behind her. She had a small, upturned nose and large, brown eyes. Annabeth guessed that she would be quiet petite but it was hard to tell from the hoodie she was drowning in.

"Annabeth, hey, this is Juniper." Grover smiled and patted down the seat beside him for her to join. "Percy will be glad you could make it."

The atmosphere was a little overwhelming so Annabeth settles to nod at Grover and have a look around. She recognises Estelle, Sally and Paul from the tea party she'd attended a few weeks ago. Estelle is wearing a skirt with two mermaid fins at the bottom and a top with the 'Finding Nemo' logo and various fish stitched onto it. Vaguely recalling when Percy had mentioned his and Estelle's obsession with sea life, Annabeth isn't surprised to spot the shells and starfishes on Estelle's headband. Sally waves in her direction and Annabeth lifts her hand in response.

Stood with the Blofis family is a boy with floppy, blonde hair and freckles and an older man with a cane. The elder of the two has a rather impressive beard and thin framed glasses, but he smiles kindly at Estelle as she dances at his feet, so Annabeth decides he must be friendly.

Grover and Juniper let her in on their conversation on the effects of climate change and their fast food preferences. Sure enough, the topics entwine rather well and Grover holds a good debate as to why enchiladas are the most eco friendly fast food item and should be replacing every McDonalds.

"So, where are they?" Annabeth asks after 20 minutes of making polite chatter.

"Oh, The Halfbloods?" Asks Grover. When she hums, he explains. "There'll be here soon. This happens every year when they release their first single. They're in the studio the day of the release tweaking everything they can before the public hear it."

"I'd give them another 10 before they burst through the door." The blonde boy joins in, offering Annabeth a tentative smile. "I'm Will, Nico's boyfriend."

Sally mutters something to Paul and the two of them share a knowing smile.

Sure enough, the door swings open and in marches the three of them. Thalia looks like she didn't get dressed this morning and is wearing a pair of loose fitted, maroon sweatpants and a Green Day shirt that looks to have seen better days. Nico is dressed casually in a pair of black, ripped jeans with chains hung from the belt loops and an aviators jacket that looks a few sizes to big. And Percy... His blue jeans are faded and ripped, though unintentionally, and his shirt is tight. Annabeth pretends not to notice the way it stretches over his shoulders and across his torso but Will catches her staring and whispers in her ear.

"It's okay, I was the same with Nico last year." Her head snaps up to meet Will's eyes. Is she being that obvious? "It gets easier when you can do this."

She doesn't have time to ask what 'this' is before Will has waltzed over to Nico and they're kissing. Or maybe it's a full blown make out session. Annabeth looks away, not wanting to invade their privacy.

"Hey, you." Percy's voice over her shoulder makes her jump. "Glad you could make it."

"Of course, I couldn't miss this."

They're so close. His hand catches her hip when she turns to look at him and her skin feels hot under the thin t-shirt. Annabeth can see his adams apple swallow hard and when she looks at him she has to tip her head back. She glances at his lips before his eyes but that's only because of the angle making them so close to her face, right?

She goes to shove him playfully but instead she presses her hand to his chest and rests it there. His heartbeat hammers under her fingers.

Annabeth isn't stupid, she knows they're inevitable. Sooner or later, she's going to cave and kiss him and they'll live happily ever after or they'll break. It takes everything in her to just roll her eyes and smirk at his glances instead of closing his mouth with her own but she manages. It's too soon for them to fall apart and she doesn't want to lose him yet.

Dinner is several delivery's from the local takeaways and a batch of cookies specially baked by Sally that afternoon. They're still warm when Annabeth bites into the blue dough and the melted chocolate is sticky in her mouth. It's heavenly.

It's just gone 11pm when Estelle finally grows tired and cuddles up on the couch besides Annabeth. Percy is mid-conversation with Chiron, Thalia and Nico which looks pretty instense but she doesn't miss the way he glances over at them and his stance softens as he watches Estelle crawl into her lap.

For a three year old, she's remarkably articulate, Annabeth notes. She yawns and babbles about her favorite Disney films, quizzing Annabeth on princesses and show tunes.

"You look like sleeping beauty because you have pretty hair. But she's boring. I think you should be Cinderella." The young girl gasps from where she's tucked herself into Annabeth's arms. "Or Rapunzel. She's cool. She hits people with the pan and has a pretty voice, like you. Percy showed me your pretty voice. I think I'm going to steal it like octopus lady does to Ariel. I want a pretty voice like yours..."

Estelle's eyes are closed as she mutters, so Annabeth doesn't reply. She does, however, feel her face flush. Percy talks about her with Estelle? The thought of him with his little sister discussing her 'pretty voice' makes her heart swell.

"Do you need rescuing from this little guppy?"

Thalia is stood beside the couch staring at Estelle. Her expression is soft and contrasting to her usual stern exterior. Annabeth vaguely recalls that The Halfbloods had been a band longer than Estelle had been alive and Sally had practically adopted them as her own children, that would explain the way Thalia seemed to smile at Estelle more than anyone else. They were practically sisters.

She almost shakes her head but she can see from Thalia's gaze that she wants to hold Estelle, so instead she smiles and passes over the young girl.

"Percy's in the kitchen."

With that, Thalia carries Estelle off to what she guesses is a bedroom for her to settle in.

Annabeth had been in Percy's apartment before for many a movie night or afternoon of music where they would both sit on the floor and harmonise to the entirety of Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi's repertoire while he strummed the chords on his guitar, but the atmosphere tonight is heavier. Their single 'Up All Night' goes public at midnight. This is the first thing he's done properly for his career since they'd met. Of course, he'd written and recorded songs, but those weren't public knowledge. Lots of those were for her ears alone. This was bigger than all of that and could potentially set the tone for the success of the band this year.

"Seaweed Brain," She greeted when she spotted him nursing a cider. He must be nervous, she knew he tried not to make a habit of drinking.

"Annabeth," Percy's lips pulled into a smile and he tugged on her arm to get her closer to him.

She pouted when he towered over her again. There wasn't too much of a height difference but she jumped and perched on the counter to make it more even regardless. Percy's laugh was quiet but it still echoed in her brain.

The clock was ticking as they nattered. 11:20. 11:30. 11:40. 11:50.

Percy's hand began shaking and she pressed it between her own palms. "Relax, Percy, the song's great. You'll be nominated for Song of the Summer before you know it. You should just be worried about cleaning yourself up for that awards show. I'm praying on behalf of whoever needs to get a comb through that nest you've got on your head."

He rolls his eyes but looks no less stressed. In a split second, Annabeth decides to pull him into a hug and he relaxes into her arms. It's not particularly comfortable for her. The exposed skin of her thighs sticks to the counter and her legs are pressed between him and the edge of the marble, but she's not in any pain so she puts up with it for him.

They mustn't have moved for a long time because Annabeth hears everyone count down from 10 in the room next door.

9\. Percy pulls away and meets her eyes.

8\. 7. "Thanks for that, I guess I needed to take a minute."

6\. 5. 4. Their eyes search each others faces for an indication. Annabeth briefly remembers telling herself not to do this, not tonight when she could lose him so easily.

3\. 2. He glances at her lips and raises an eyebrow questioningly. Of course, he was checking she was okay with it, that boy was too selfless for his own good. Maybe that's what made her decision for her.

1.


	17. Chapter 17

August 8th

When they finally pull apart, the song is playing through the speakers from the next room. Percy has to swallow hard before he opens his eyes and looks at her.

Annabeth's lips are pink and her cheeks are a pretty similar shade that disguises the dusting of freckles that decorate her nose. Her eyes are open but she's looking at the floor. For a second, he regrets leaning in and kissing her, of course, it's not what she wanted. He'd screwed it up between them yet again.

But then she lets out an airy laugh and meets his eyes. He doesn't have time to think before she's kissing him again.

His senses work on overdrive trying to track every part of her. There's a hand running through his hair, her other one clasps around the material of his top. He's aware of his own hands floating between them awkwardly and he makes a conscious decision to put them on her hips. Everything about him is drowning in her and it's pretty much his favorite feeling. He vaguely recognises the bridge of the song playing and hears Thalia proudly belting her lyrics but everything sounds like he's underwater. The only thing that sounds clear to him is Annabeth whenever she hums against his lips.

Percy's breathless when they separate again. Their foreheads knock together clumsily but they rest their heads against each other while they catch their breath back.

"Hey," Her voice is a whisper as she smiles at him, dazed. He can feel her eye lashes flutter on his nose.

One last time, he presses his lips to hers. This kiss is shorter and lacks the need of their prior ones, but it's sweet and his heart still managed to thump against his rib cage.

"Sorry," He mutters, not apologetic in the slightest. "Couldn't help myself."

His hands move, one capturing her own and linking their fingers and the other presses against her lower back, his thumb tucking under the hem of her top. This moment is perfect. Percy tries to remember every last detail. Maybe he could write a song about it so then the memory could last forever, though he doubts he could ever put the feeling of being fully submerged in everything Annabeth into words.

Someone enters and Percy just closes his eyes, a smile playing at his lips. Maybe if he pretends not to notice the intruder then they'll go away. Alas, Annabeth moves her head away from his and the moment is gone.

Grover is hovering in the doorway. "I just wanted to get..." Annabeth must notice what he's staring at so she passes him a diet coke can from the crate besides her. He nods and goes to turn. "Actually, I said I'd get one for Juniper..." She passes another and he thanks her, darting out of the room skittishly.

Percy catches Annabeth's eye and they stare at each other for a second before bursting out laughing. Her laugh is a little giggle that eases into more rowdy laughter with intervals of her snorting when she had to catch her breath and maybe he fell in love a little more for it.

In love. He almost went to correct his own thoughts but he couldn't bring himself to deny it.

They were talking as though they hadn't just kissed and Percy thought that might be why they worked so well. Nothing had to change between them, right? They could still talk like best friends, Percy would just be able to take her hand and kiss her. It sounded more than ideal.

"Hey, Perce, what's going on in that seaweed brain of yours?" Her eyebrows were scrunched up as she inspected his face.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

"Uh-huh." She sounded sceptical.

"Are we..?" Percy let his voice fade, hoping she understood.

Judging from the way she pursed her lip and her eyes sparkled, she knew exactly what he meant. "Are we..." Annabeth prompted.

"You're so not making this easy."

Despite her making him spell it out, the smile that plays on her lips makes it worth it. "Oh, I am never going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

\------

August 15th

'Up All Night' reaches number one on the charts almost overnight and has yet to be replaced. The title for Song of the Summer is almost guaranteed, Percy is over the moon.

Also Annabeth. There's that too.

They'd been doing really well. They'd been on a date (a date!) to the coast and Annabeth had even vlogged some of their trip. Neither of them had made their relationship Instagram official but there had been a lot of speculation from their followers - mostly because Annabeth had been live streaming in her room while Percy showered and hadn't thought to warn him, so he'd walked out the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. Thankfully, he hadn't been in the frame, but it did mean Annabeth had to hide her blush when he winked at her.

So far, they'd done nothing more than kiss and cuddle - anyone who believed otherwise was reading too much of their followers' fanfiction and needed to get their mind out of the gutter. He was more than happy with her company before they dipped their toes into a relationship, let alone when he was allowed to hold her for no reason other than he wanted to.

They were lounging on her couch, Luna curled at their feet when he asks.

"So... Are we a thing now?"

Annabeth raises eyebrow. "I figured it was obvious but I guess you've got too much seaweed in that head of yours."

"So we are?"

She nods nervously. "If that's okay... Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I just wondered- I just wanted to ask if- Can I?"

"Spit it out."

"Can I post this?"

He shows her his phone and on it is a video. It's only short, about five seconds long. He lets it loop as she watches the two of them at the beach a few days ago. The video shows Annabeth posing in the edge of the water looking as gorgeous as ever in a black one-piece. Percy runs out of the water and splashes her before pulling her back against his bare chest and kissing her cheek.

She watches it play a few times.

"I- Yeah, you can post that..." She doesn't sound too sure so he gives her a minute to continue. "What are you gonna write as a caption?"

Percy hits the plus button on his Instagram and pulls up the draft post.

_here's to being my emergency contact someday_

Annabeth bites her lip and he's very grateful he showed her this before posting. At least she would be able to fix his wording.

"Percy..."

"I can change it. If that's what you want."

"No, it's perfect."

And it was. It was the reassurance of permanence that she had been craving. Annabeth nodded at his phone and he hit 'share' before setting his phone on the coffee table and wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her cheek once again.


	18. Chapter 18

August 18th

After Percy's post, it became pretty obvious that they were dating. Annabeth had even had a call from her father to which she'd rolled her eyes throughout but somehow managed to put up with. She and Percy had filmed a video titled "You guessed it" which she was in the process of editing which clearly stated that, yes, they were dating, but that wasn't all she had to look forward to right now.

It was Percy's 22nd. She'd been gloating about being more grown up and mature than him since her 22nd was last month and she was rather proud of her way of saying happy birthday. (She'd signed off their conversation the night before with a sweet 'goodnight, baby boy' and set an alarm so she could text him first thing when she woke up 'mornin, old man'. Probably not her best joke but they'd been humoured all the same.)

She was keen to see him even despite the fact that they'd been on Facetime all morning, she missed him. They had dinner reservations at a rooftop restaurant near central Manhattan that evening and Annabeth had a gift for him.

In the meantime, she got to work editing. The video she was uploading tonight was titled "Guess the song in 5 seconds feat. Piper" and had taken an infuriatingly long time to film, so Annabeth was glad to be getting that one out of her hair. She walked Luna for almost an hour after lunch and then binge watched a show on Netflix before deciding that maybe she should get ready for tonight.

Determined not to wear the same dress she had worn to dinner with him before, Annabeth rummaged through Piper's closet as well as her own. She was unable to settle on a dress in the end, but found a pastel blue body suit she thought could look smart paired with some black jeans. When she tried it on in the mirror, Annabeth winced. The V of the neckline exposed her breast bone and left her feeling more than a little anxious about it falling loose altogether, but despite that, she did look pretty good. The sleeves were large but not too puffy and had cuffs to stop the extra material falling into her food as she ate and though they didn't sit properly on her shoulder, the material pulled taut enough so that she was sure it wouldn't slip. The last thing she needed to do tonight was flash her boobs on a rooftop in front of the boy of her dreams.

Adding black jeans made the outfit look smart but almost too casual so, against her better judgement, Annabeth slipped on her black court heels. Her makeup was minimal and natural, save for the rather orangey/red lipstick she'd coated on her lips, and after donning her necklace which now held her own birthday present from Percy, Annabeth decided she was ready.

She was picking up Percy in 20 minutes so she hastily slipped her phone, keys, lipstick and his present into a small, white purse, cuddled Luna as a goodbye and made her way out.

The summer air that hit as she left her apartment building was hot and humid and so Annabeth walked past the cafe's and carts with their air conditioning on as to not get sweaty before she'd even seen her date. Someone stops her on the street for a photo but she politely declines saying she's sorry but she doesn't want to. Luckily, the fan just smiles and gets a signature instead.

"Because it's his birthday, right? You're going to see Percy. I get it." It was more than a little alarming that strangers in the street knew her plans but at least most of them had the decency to be respectful about it.

It was only a short walk to Percy's apartment but she took it steadily, her feet were already sore from the heels but she would be able to put up with it for one evening. The buff looking security guy in the lobby of his building nods stoically at Annabeth when she gets into the elevator. He'd always made her feel a little uneasy with his dark, opaque sunglasses and leather jacket decorated with spikes on the shoulder pads, but she had heard Percy compliment the guy on his neat right hook that he'd landed the one time they'd had an intruder try to break in. She had no intention of getting on the man's bad side.

Percy and Grover shared an apartment on the fourth floor the furthest from the elevator so strolled slowly and glanced at the time as she walked down the corridor. She was a few minutes early but Percy wouldn't mind.

When he answers the door, he's grinning ear to ear. She can tell in a quick glance over that he's not ready.

His shirt is only half buttoned and done up incorrectly anyway. Percy's hair is usually a mess, but right now it's stuck to his forehead and dripping down his face and it still doesn't look like he'd made an effort to brush it. There's a few ties hung round his neck in different shades of blue and he has his hand clasped to his ear while he sorts his piercing. Annabeth smiles at the sight.

"I figured you wouldn't be ready." She sighs, setting her purse on the floor and reaching for his shirt to redo the buttons. Percy looks stunned at shuts his mouth. When she finishes sorting his shirt and looks up at him expectingly, he clears his throat.

"You look beautiful."

Annabeth just smirks and ties a tie round his neck, opting for the one that matches her bodysuit the closest. When she's done she leans up to his face and pecks his lips.

"Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain."


	19. Chapter 19

August 18th

The restaurant is very extravagantly decorated, something Annabeth appreciates because the pillars around the centre didn't need any more attention than necessary. Honestly, she would've had more arches than pillars if she were to restructure, but hey that's none of her business.

She speaks briefly to the woman serving them and then they're led to their table. Annabeth had been to this restaurant before and therefore knew to ask for this one particular table, it had to be that one. She had booked it as soon as she'd known Percy was free for his birthday because it was so important.

The table is on the rooftop and in the corner. It's kept secluded by some ivy covered fences that block it from one side and on the other side is a fish tank (Annabeth had asked the question of why the fish were outside so that she would have an answer to Percy's endearing worries and was assured that the collapsible roof attached to the wall around this particular table and so the fish were safely inside overnight and in bad weather) so no one would be able to take any photos of their evening — and Percy would be able gloat about his ability to understand fish language. It was perfect. They order a bottle of bubbly and take their seats.

"Gee, Annabeth, this is incredible." He was gawking at the view of the skyline but Annabeth just couldn't take her eyes off of him. Somehow, she'd managed to run a comb through his hair while it was still wet and since then the ends of his hair had twisted into delicate, tight curls. The green of his eyes was brought out by the flow of ivy on the wall behind him and she became increasingly jealous of his long, dark eyelashes as she watched them blink against his skin. There was no question that Percy was attractive, she'd known that even before she'd met him, but knowing him made the way she did and being able to see him like this made her revel in his beauty all the more.

He gasped when he saw the fish tank. "My brethren," Percy greeted them dramatically, leaving Annabeth to roll her eyes as it antics. "Annabeth, you gotta say hello to the fish."

"I am not-"

"You gotta say hello to the fish."

"Percy-"

"It's my birthday. Say hello to the fish."

She pursed her lips and huffed. "Hello." The way he beamed at her made her heart skip a beat.

They spent the evening talking endlessly about everything they could think of. The topic of conversation ranged from their childhoods and their careers to contemplating the meaning of life and the Ghost in the Machine Theory, an odd development but interesting nonetheless.

"I sincerely hope we're not part of some elaborate video game and being played by some higher power." Percy pouted over his glass.

"It would explain the ever increasing trauma of the world. Just wait for the boss level, Earth is so screwed." As she spoke, Percy got a distant look in his eye. "What?"

"Here me out." She raised an eyebrow at his statement but prepared to listen to his mutterings. "If the world's a video game and we're just pixels on the character selection board that never got chosen and therefore became those dumb little background people you see around the city when you play as the hero, then I'm glad because I'd much rather be here, like this, with you." Percy's face gradually grows pinker as he talks and truthfully Annabeth thinks hers might be doing the same.

She puts her hand on his across the table and they share a smile. It's perfect, really, the pair of them on the rooftop on such a beautiful evening. It's almost a pity that all they seem to care to look at is each other. Annabeth reaches for her purse. "I have something for you." He looks like he's about to protest but she holds up her palm to stop him. "It's your birthday, Perce, of course I've got something for you."

The box she presses into his palm is velvety and rectangular and Percy raises an eyebrow. "Annabeth, I'm not complaining but don't you think it's a bit soon?" She just scoffs and waves her hand for him to open it.

Annabeth had spent hours pondering what to get Percy but she knew she'd made the right choice when she saw his face. He probably doesn't fully understand it yet but that's okay. The jewellery is simple and silver but the meaning is there. The charm attached to the chain is square with sound waves engraved in the middle. He grins.

"What does it say?"

Annabeth tips the box so he can see the code stuck to the lid. "Scan it on your phone."

He opens his phone camera and points it at the code, hitting play on the audio recording that pops up. Annabeth smiles when she listens to it. It had taken so long to get the perfect audio, but in the end she'd decided on the messy first take. In the recording, you could practically hear her smile when she said "Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain" followed by Estelle's little giggle and her call of "We love you!" The audio itself is barely six seconds but the look on his face is that of love.

"Annabeth, I-" He freezes and bites his lip but carries on before she can question it. "This is amazing. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it."

Something passes between them, an understanding of everything going unspoken. It's for the better that neither of them say it aloud but it's nice to know they're on the same page. Percy fumbles with the clasp but puts the necklace on, pocketing the box and then clearing his throat.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Annabeth hums questioningly, so he carries on. "The song of the summer awards show is this weekend, it's just a formality, not aired anywhere. But I wondered if you'd go with me?"

She can tell from the way he chews at his lip that he was nervous to ask her. Frankly, she's nervous to agree. It'll be their first press event as a couple and even if the presentation wasn't aired, she knew their would be press at the entrance. Her stomach ties in a knot at the idea of so many people so close and asking so many questions. Despite her apprehension, she nods. "Of course I will. You'll have to give me a rundown of what to expect save my hyperventilating on the night, but I wouldn't miss it."

They walk to her apartment building arm in arm, happy to accompany each other in silence. It's peaceful to just be by each other's side and Annabeth respects that. It's the kind of relationship she's longed for since book characters set her standards so high, the kind where just the sheer act of walking her home can express something that words cannot.

This time, they part with a kiss.


	20. Chapter 20

August 21st

The awards show is tomorrow and Annabeth is crazy nervous. Not for the presentation, though that too, but for today.

Somehow, she'd managed to land an audition for Waitress and thus far, she was up for a standby role of Jenna. She wasn't quite sure how she'd ended up here, but even if she was turned away now, she was grateful for the experience.

(It sounds cliché, but Annabeth wasn't kidding, it had been a wonderful lesson for her and it would be a big leap to star in a Broadway show. She felt very out of place alongside the five other girls up for the same position as they were all professionally trained. Annabeth had passion and talent, but her most recent performance had been as Beth in her high school show of Little Women so she was definitely rusty.)

Thankfully, Jenna didn't have to properly dance at any point - save the sweet little dance she does in the diner with Joe and the fast paced routine of Bad Idea - so there was a very easy-to-follow dance call that focused more on simple steps and easy movement. Annabeth had never been much of a dancer, strong mover might be the better term for it, but she managed to keep up as best she could.

This is the third round of auditions she's attended and she's already mastered her southern accent from the repetitive dialogue auditions. They know she can sing from her initial call, but this felt like the next level.

The boy that's called in to sing with them is broad shouldered and handsome with piercing blue eyes that make Annabeth feel cold. He's attractive, sure, possibly even someone who would've her type a few years ago, though she's not so sure anymore. There's something icy about him that she wouldn't've noticed if she hadn't been comparing it to Percy's warmth.

While he sings with the first girl, Katie, Annabeth tries to figure out where she knows him from.

"You can see why he's playing the hot doctor, I think I have a fever just looking at him." Kayla says, elbowing Annabeth gently in the side. So that's where she knew him from, of course, he was on as Dr Pomatter when she'd come to see the show a few weeks ago.

"Last but by no means least, Annabeth Chase, you're up." The casting director calls her over and hands her the libretto sides. They're easing her in gently, she thinks when she spots which duet they're doing first. It Only Takes A Taste was casual enough for two people that have yet to meet. Bad Idea was next though so she better get to know him pretty darn fast.

He holds out is hand. "Luke," Politely, she smiles and shakes his hand.

Now Annabeth was all about professionalism. Despite the guilt that settled in her stomach when she sang with Luke, she knew it was part of the job. If she was uncomfortable with this, she might as well back out here and now before she got roped into this continually. She swallowed the bile that was building in her throat and got on with it.

The blocking for Bad Idea was rather raunchy and so inevitably Annabeth was bright red the entire time. Prop pies were difficult to work with, especially when the content was whipped cream and not actual pie so when Luke lifts his face from where the pie is positioned over her crotch (you see her dilemma here) and the plate sticks to it, she can't help but giggle. Luke's whipped cream covered smirk when she pulls the plate from his face makes her smile waver.

When they finish the third duet, the casting director grins. "Your chemistry is awesome, guys, you seem to just click." The casting director, a man called Lester Papadopoulos who insisted on going by the name Apollo, scribbles some notes in a book. "Right, Luke, you best get some dinner before call time. Annabeth... can we speak for a moment?"

Everyone shuffles accordingly. Luke sends her a wink before following the assistant director and panel out of the room and Annabeth feels her gut twist.

"Miss Chase, we are genuinely considering you for the role." Apollo spoke quietly as the door swung closed behind everyone. "Possibly even a more prominent role than a standby or swing. I understand you have a following on social media." Her heart sinks. Of course this conversation would come up eventually.

"I do... But I can assure you it won't impact my work ethic or anything, sir."

Apollo let out a breathy laugh and shakes his head. "I don't doubt that, Annabeth. But we are well aware that our show, as beloved as it is, is not doing well financially. We want to make you an offer. I just wanted to make it very clear from the start that this was not brought on by your following. Admittedly, the audience it would bring in would be beneficial, but I want you to know that I would offer you a part regardless."

The butterflies in her stomach are doing somersaults.

"I've written out the details for you and have a contract to sign when you're ready." Apollo places a small envelope in her hand. "Give me a call when you have an answer."

She's left alone in the room to stare at the envelope she's holding. Her name is scribbled on the front in the messiest penmanship she thinks she's ever seen. Something holds her back from opening the letter and reading it's contents right now, so she takes a cab back to her apartment and does the only thing she can think to do.

Call her emotionally unstable, sure, but it works, okay?

She starts the video before she's remembered what she's doing and why. It stings to remember why she'd started videoing things like this even though it's become more of a coping mechanism for when she didn't want to be alone for big news but didn't want to hassle anyone on the off chance it wasn't news to celebrate.

The first time she'd done this had been for when she'd opened her test results for her first big exam season - or as big as an exam season could be for a first grader. Her absent mother had always been a bit of a sore spot, but when she reached seven and her father began to get distant too she felt like she needed someone to experience the big moments with her. Baby faced Annabeth had figured that if her parents wouldn't be there for her, future Annabeth would be able to watch back and be proud that she'd been able to do everything on her own.

So yeah, maybe she wasn't able to cope with her childhood. She was doing good. The amount of videos she had of herself opening envelopes like she was now must mean she was doing something right.

Her thumb slips under the envelope seal and she pulls out the paper.


	21. Chapter 21

August 21st

"Annabeth, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Piper squeals and takes the letter from Annabeth. "I knew you could do it, what did I tell you?"

Perhaps now is not the time to point out that Piper had actually told her that she'd make the perfect Regina George and that that role had next to nothing in common with Jenna Hunterson (though Annabeth's rendition of Someone Gets Hurt was actually pretty good if she did say so herself).

"So you're gonna be on Broadway? This is incredible. I knew you had it in you."

Hearing someone say it out loud made everything seem so much more real. Annabeth was going to be on Broadway - as soon as she signs the contract. Sure, it was a deliberate choice for the show and there were always debates about stunt casting, but hopefully all would work out well. She's desperate to spread her good news but for now, she decides to keep it quiet. Nothing's official until everything's signed and though she could tell Percy, she decides not to. Tomorrow is his awards show and she had no desire to step on his toes when he was about to be awarded Song of the Summer and begin his most successful year in music to date.

The morning of the awards show, Annabeth is buzzing. Of course, Percy had given her a brief outline of the night, but Will had given her the more valuable information.

 **sunnysolace** TheHalfbloodsArmCandyGuide.doc

 **sunnysolace** that's everything you're gonna need to know, lmk if you have any questions :)

It featured useful knowledge such as: **#8** \- don't let the press ask Thalia about romance, **#32** \- if Nico and Percy ask for a mango cocktail, they mean a Caprisun, they just won't admit it and **#37** \- under no circumstances should any of them be allowed to eat during the presentation.

Will had even informed her that if she were to arrive at Percy's apartment a few hours early, everyone would be there getting ready and she would be able to have someone do her hair and makeup for her if she wanted. It would save her a job...

So that's why she knocks on Percy's door at five instead of seven with her dress held in a clothes carrier and her own minimal makeup collection in a makeup case. The girl that opens the door looks to be about sixteen and squeaks when she sees Annabeth. "She's here!"

"Lacy, I need the tweezers," Someone shouts and the girl, Lacy, ushers Annabeth in before hurrying off, armed with a pair of dangerously sharp, bejewelled tweezers.

When she surveys the room, Annabeth is reminded of just how famous the halfbloods are. There must be six people flitting around the room with brushes and moisturisers, tending to the band as they get ready. Nico and Will are lounging on the couch, hand in hand and watching some sitcom she doesn't recognise. The pair of them wince every time they laugh because it must pull on their face-masks. Someone is massaging Thalia's face with a jade roller while another girl (who looks like she might as well be a model) styles her hair. Annabeth's favorite sight has to be that of Percy, though. He's leaning against the kitchen counter while Lacy and an older girl pluck his eyebrows.

"Beth, boy am I glad you're here. Save me, please. Tell Drew this isn't necessary." He calls, letting out another whimper as part of his eyebrow is stolen away.

Annabeth walks over slowly and studies his face. "Truthfully, Percy, it's been a long time coming. You should be thankful it's them doing it and not me. I wouldn't baby you quite so much." She says when she watches Lacy rub an ice cube over the other eyebrow.

A new voice shouts Annabeth and she spins to find out who. "Finally, you're here. Can I see your dress so I can match Percy's wardrobe?" This girl is dressed much more casually than the rest of the stylists and artists in the room. A mess of fiery red hair is twisted atop her head and a few fly-aways frame her face like a lions mane. Annabeth thinks she spots a paintbrush sticking out of the bun but maybe she's mistaken.

The girl, Rachel, tugs on Annabeth's hand and takes her into a bedroom while hurriedly introducing herself. When she finally stops talking, she takes the clothes carrier from Annabeth and unzips it, revealing her dress.

Hazel had visited earlier in the week and insisted that they have a girls shopping trip so that Annabeth wouldn't look like a glamorous school girl on her next evening out, so inevitably she had bought a new dress. It's a simple style, pale pink and just past her knee with a floaty, sheer skirt. The bodice twists back into a bow between the bottom of her shoulder blades and reveals the skin of her back that the skirt doesn't cover.

"It's nice. I'm not putting Percy in baby pink though, so I'll get you a white clutch. Then you'll compliment his suit."

She tries not to frown at Rachel's harsh tone. This girl means business, clearly.

"Get dressed and then I'll get Silena to fix your face up."

Annabeth is left alone to do just that.

The pale color of the dress highlights her California-girl tan and makes her legs look long and slim. She shamelessly strokes her hand over her freshly shaved legs (who doesn't?) and lets her hair fall loose around her shoulders. There's a mirror on the wardrobe that Annabeth admires herself in. That's when she realises where she is.

Percy's bedroom is semi-familiar from all their early morning Facetime calls and snaps, so she recognises the checkered bedding and blue feature wall, but it's much tidier than she expected it to be. Perhaps that's because Rachel's using it as her own personal walk in wardrobe. There must be 4 rails of clothing in the space between the foot of the bed and the wall, all much too neatly pressed to be Percy's alone. Something catches her eye.

There's a photo on a cabinet of her and Estelle at the tea party she'd attended months ago. Stella's hair was untamed and wild and she had a 'dinglehopper' stuck through one of her pigtails to accent her adorableness. Annabeth was next to her, face tinted pink from her nerves and paper crown balancing precariously on her head. That had been the first time she'd met his family. So much had changed and yet everything felt the same.

Silena was incredible at what she did. Using only the minimal collection of makeup from her bag, she managed to make Annabeth's skin glowing and flawless, her eyelids shimming, lashes long and curled and her lips plump and pink. A crown was braided into her hair and and a powder brush tickled her cheeks and then she was done.

"You look... wow." Percy was biting his lip and smiling at her so she gave him a twirl. He looked particularly handsome in his black two-piece and crisp white shirt, Annabeth was certainly appreciative of the fact that someone had sorted his eyebrows out and cleaned up the stubble that had started on his chin. The sharp line of his jaw had been highlighted using a small amount of contour and the angles of his face made his eyes look softer than usual.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

She let out a nervous breath and nodded. "I think so."

"As long as we're together."


	22. Chapter 22

August 22nd

The Song of the Summer awards show is a relatively low-key event. It's more of a get together for popular artist and even then, the more famous artists don't attend, so it's kind of like a party for the B list songwriters and bands. The Halfbloods have attended every year they were nominated but they've yet to win. This year could be different.

Nico and Will lead the way, arms linked and press eating up every word they utter. Thalia walks between the couples, occasionally butting in with their conversations but mostly just off on her own buttering up the reporters. Bringing up the rear with Annabeth on his arm, Percy smiles genuinely for the cameras. He can feel the tension in her muscles as they walk along the carpet.

"Percy! When can we hear the songs you've written for Annabeth!"

"Annabeth, is it true you've had a crush on Percy for years?"

His arms slips around her waist so he can pull her closer. "They use names to get your attention. Just ignore them and keep walking, we're only talking to the ones we've prepared for." Annabeth only nods.

"Mr Jackson, when can we expect another single?"

Whispering, Annabeth turns her head so that the reporters can't lip read. "You call this low-key?" 

Instead of commenting, he picks up the pace from leisurely stroll to purposeful. "Keep walking, Chase, it's okay once you get past these guys. Everyone on the next stretch has paid for their place. They won't waste their time on stupid questions."

Deciding to take his word for it, she walked alongside him around the bend in the carpet. These reporters all hold labelled microphones from news channels she recognises which makes her feel a little more confident. Even so, she eyes Will who is several feet ahead and laughing with a few of the press over the metal barrier.

"A word, Mr Jackson?"

Percy heads in the direction of the person that called out. The woman with the microphone is dressed in a blinding white suit and has sleek brown hair that falls just past her shoulders.

"This is Hera from Olympus News, here we have Percy Jackson and his belle Annabeth Chase. How are you feeling tonight, Percy?" He pretends not to be bothered by the sneering once-over she gives to Annabeth and instead chooses to smile for the camera.

"Pretty good actually, I always enjoy events like this but I think we might actually stand a chance at winning this year." He holds his crossed fingers up by his face and winks.

Hera hums, unconvinced. "And with all this success you'll surely be off on tour again soon?" When Percy nods, Hera strikes. "Surely Annabeth can't travel with you though, as she has her own career here in New York. Are you ready for the test of separation this soon in your relationship?"

Taken aback slightly, Percy blinks at the camera and rubs circles into Annabeth's side where his hand rests. "Well, it'll be a challenge I suppose, but we were close before we met in person, so I think with enough Facetime calls, we'll manage. Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say." Hera goes to ask something else but he's not really in the right frame of mind for her anymore, so he walks past and to someone else.

The next reporter asks about his career which Percy is more than happy to answer. When they ask about Annabeth's Youtube channel, she flinches and blinks her eyes back into focus.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?" As soon he nudges her, Annabeth switches on, smiling and nodding in all the right places. Eventually they reach the end of the red carpet and head into the building. There's no cameras in here and it's made very obvious by the crowd around the open bar.

Percy takes Annabeth's hand and pulls her aside. "Are you okay? I lost you there for a minute." She nods immediately and insists she's fine so reluctantly, Percy leaves the subject alone. Thalia appears over their shoulders to give them the directions to their seats.

The presentation is more like a party, Percy realises when he tries to see things from Annabeth's point of view. Her seat is besides Will and the pair seem to get on really well so he's happy to just watch as she finally relaxes. The ceremony starts with a TV presenter announcing the categories (which becomes a bit of a drone when every title includes the words 'Song of the Summer' until it no longer resembles English anymore). Annabeth smiles proudly at him when their category is listed and his heart back flips despite the fact that they knew they were nominated before they even arrived.

It drags for what feels like hours. Percy becomes increasingly grateful that Grover shoved some of his ADHD toys in his pocket to fidget with, when he notices Annabeth's fingers tapping on her thigh, he slips one under her palm. After announcing female solo artist Song of the Summer - Camila Cabello, no one's surprised - they move onto the band categories.

"And the nominees are..." When The Halfbloods are called out, Thalia takes his hand and they lean over to smile at Nico.

The silence before they announce the winner is deafening. Percy can almost hear the breathing of the presenter down the mic, the footsteps of the wandering audience members, the pouring of drinks in the back of the hall. It's like in all the movies where the camera slows and pans the room, the sound of a heartbeat is dubbed over and every other noise is made fuzzy and quiet. Just like in the movies, Percy can practically feel the sweat building on his brow.

"The Halfbloods!"

He thinks everything should fall into slow motion and then maybe he would be able to process what was happening before running up to the stage to receive the award, but instead it all feels like it's in hyper-speed. Thalia tugs at his hand and leads him towards the stage, Nico close behind them. His brain is still a few minutes behind but someone shoves a mic in his hands and he trips over his words.

"Uhh, Thalia?" He offers the mic in her direction but she just smirks, leaving him to handle it. She wrote the dam song, Percy thinks, it should be her doing the talking. With no one coming to his rescue, he figures that maybe he should say something. "No, okay. Um, right so yeah I guess we want to thank everyone, as usual. Chiron, what a guy," The audience chuckles and Percy's chest tightens but he looks to Annabeth and she beams, lifting two happy thumbs up in his direction.

"I mean, I can't speak on behalf of these two, but I guess I wanna thank my mom, and my sister, she's the best. But also..." When he talks, he makes sure he's looking at her and her only. It's not hard when she looks the way she does tonight. "Annabeth. You're my new muse. Here's to me calling you that for however long you'll let me." Shaking the dazed look off his face, he passes Nico the mic and backs away from the front of the stage.

Annabeth blows a kiss from where she sits and though the award is a nice touch, in his eyes she's a prize that's a million times more special.


	23. Chapter 23

August 23rd

It takes almost three minutes from when she wakes up for her to open her eyes and realise she's not in her own bed. From then, it takes approximately ten seconds before she can figure out where she is. She spots the picture on the cabinet that she noticed the day before and then it adds up.

Another giveaway could be the person in bed next to her, but that clue just makes it too obvious.

She doesn't really remember all of the night before, but she does remember ordering a glass of something to help with the nerves so she figured she must have had something to drink. Thankfully a glance under the covers confirms that she is still fully dressed, though in much more suitable attire than her pink dress. The dress in question is on a hangar and hooked on the handle of Percy's closet. Annabeth knows she can be a bit of a slob when she's tipsy so she can say with confidence that that was not her doing. Was Percy really sweet enough to hang her dress up for her while she slept? Stupid question, of course he was. Now, if she wasn't wearing her dress, what was she wearing?

Another glance under the covers tells her that she's wearing one of Percy's old t-shirts. The print has faded but when she blinks the sleep out of her eyes and tries to focus, she's able to read it.

_Goode High Battle of the Bands_

Despite it being from Percy's high school days, the shirt is still rather big on her and so Annabeth has to check she has anything on her bottom half because she can't see any skin above her knee. Much to her own relief, she seems to have her underwear on. Always a bonus.

Percy, on the other hand, is wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Annabeth can tell from the way the bare skin of her legs intertwines with his own that he's not wearing any pyjama pants, and her palm rests on his bare chest so that rules out a t-shirt.

Allowing herself to fully inspect his face, Annabeth notices the puddle of drool building on one side of his mouth. Strangely, she finds it more endearing than disgusting. It's still disgusting, but she chooses to see it as a testament to how much she likes him. His hair is pointed in every direction imaginable, making him look like some crazy scientist and his long lashes rest on his face delicately. Percy was handsome and very attractive, but if you were able to put aside the drool, he looked downright pretty.

All her thinking must disturb his beauty sleep because he sighs a husky "G'morning," and smiles without even opening his eyes.

"Hey," She wriggles into a more comfortable position. "Did you drink last night?"

"Not a drop. You did, though. How'd you sleep?"

Annabeth giggles. "If I could remember, I'd tell you." In response, he huffs and throws an arm over her waist. "I feel refreshed, though, if that's any consolation."

When she shuffles to get out of bed, he pulls her closer and nuzzles into her hair. Percy peppers kisses over her jaw and Annabeth sighs, relaxing in his embrace. No one would blame them for having a lie-in, right?

\------

Breakfast is Percy's favourite: pancakes, blueberries and enough maple syrup to drown all of Canada. She can't help but scoff at him when he eats the top pancake and pours even more syrup on the ones still on his plate but Percy insists that pancakes are porous and therefore can't drown. His face gets incredibly sticky, something she notices when he leans in to kiss her and she pushes his face away.

The news of her Waitress success sits on her tongue but she doesn't dare mention it. The contracts aren't signed yet and now she's not so sure she wants to tie herself down in New York for so long. Something that reporter said echoes in her skull.

_"Are you ready for the test of separation this soon in your relationship?"_

Are they? Percy will be touring the world once again and she'll stay here, but she didn't have to. Youtube was versatile, she could travel with him if she wanted to, though she wouldn't want to be seen as too overbearing and clingy. Agreeing to Waitress would give her roots here in New York and then that would be that. The pair of them would be on stage every night, miles and miles away from each other. Their relationship would be doomed the second she picked up the pen.

"Tell me what's going on in that big brain of yours." Percy purses his lips in the seat opposite her. She can tell from merely his expression that he's trying to be lighthearted but can tell that something is bothering her. When she looks away from his face instead of replying, he presses on. "Hey, Annabeth, what's wrong?"

She doesn't tell him that she got the part. She doesn't tell him that she'll have to stay here in New York to do eight shows a week. She doesn't really tell him anything. After a few brief attempts to start her sentence, Percy seems to catch on.

"This is about what Hera said, isn't it? I could tell that bothered you."

No amount of his reassurance makes her feel better though, because she knows. When he says they can visit each other, she knows that's not necessarily true. They can't meet in the middle if they both have commitments to be apart.

It wasn't that she was a clingy girlfriend or that she was under the impression she comes before his career. Of course not. They'd managed to succeed without each other so why should this be any different? Broadway was her dream, and if her relationship with Percy couldn't last the length of her short run in Waitress, then maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Or maybe it was and she would just be throwing it all away.

"Annabeth, what aren't you telling me?"

Now or never, she supposed.

"I got a part on Broadway."


	24. Chapter 24

August 29th

He pretends not to be bothered that she barely trusts him and instead focuses on celebrating her talent. Annabeth had her own issues when it came to believing people cared for her, she'd told him herself, but it still feels like a stab to the heart when she bites her lip every time the tour comes up in conversation. Of course, there's nothing he can do to stop it. It's not just his career, but Thalia and Nico's too, not to mention the small army of people involved in organising a world tour. He would stop everything if she asked him to, but she would never do that.

Instead, she pretends it doesn't bother her and he pretends he can't see the cracks in the facade in the way she bites her lips or looks away when the topic arises. The words burn like ash in his lungs and he daren't voice them for the fear that he'll suffocate.

Chiron had sent him the provisional timescale of the year now that their singles were on the release.

September - album drop  
November - announce tour  
December - Christmas single   
February/March - tour

Annabeth's Waitress schedule was a little more hectic than his own and nothing was set in stone yet. According to Apollo - the casting director who was apparently also the director, producer and resident pain in the butt - it was looking like the new casting announcement wouldn't happen until late November in order to up their sales before Christmas and she probably wouldn't be used until January. It all seemed a little slow going for Percy's liking but he figures she'll have rehearsals in the meantime. So far, all she had written in her diary (she keeps a diary! Imagine being organised like that,) was a costume fitting.

Everything they have planned seems so far into the future that Percy can't quite believe it's bothering her so much. Loads had changed since they had met in June, and with their first 'test' being in January at the earliest, it seems crazy to waste all the time they could enjoy together by worrying about what's to come. Hell, there was an entire Thanksgiving and Christmas to celebrate before they would have to think about the inevitable.

"You're right." Annabeth announces from where she's perched on the counter.

Percy raises an eyebrow, unsure of what brought this on considering they had been sat in silence for the last ten minutes. "Of course I am, remind me what about though?"

"I need to relax. YOLO and all of that crap. I can't just wish away the rest of the year."

He can tell from her stance that she'd though about this a lot. Truthfully, Percy had just been playing some knock-off version of Flappy bird on his phone he knew better than to comment on that.

"So..." She bites her lip. "Do you have any plans next week?"

~~~

That's how they end up on a plane.

Percy can feel every ounce of tension in his muscles finally ease when they land in Greece and all his worries dissipate when he takes one look at her with her eyes sparkling in the Grecian sun.

As soon as they check in at the hotel, they change and head down to the beach. Annabeth switches on her vlogging camera and films a few shots of them lounging in the sun to add to her weekly upload but she doesn't spend too long on it, deciding to pack it up safe and open a book. 

"Reading makes my brain go fuzzy," Percy comments, tucking his head beside her book so she could run her fingers through his hair.

She waves something blue in his face. "Overlays are a lifesaver." When she tucks the overlay back between the pages, they make eye contact. "Do you want me to read aloud?"

In all honestly, Percy didn't pay attention to a word she was saying. He caught a few plot points and listened whenever Annabeth slipped into her own narrative comments to the book, but he mostly just closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her voice. It was the most relaxed he'd felt in a long while.

Their trip is brief, but Percy considers the days they spend touring Greece as an investment in his career. He'd said before that Annabeth was his muse so every walk along the sea front and every time she so much as catches his eye gets written in his mental notebook. On their penultimate day, they take a cab down to Cape Sounion to visit the Temple of Poseidon. It's just a load of old pillars, in his opinion, but he has to admit it looks rather remarkable in the scorching sun. Of course, what steals his attention is inevitably Annabeth. She's somewhat of a history buff and so as they walk the perimeter of the temple, she's able to recount dozens of Greek myths and legends to keep Percy engaged.

She tells him the story of Athena, born of wisdom and strength, raised alongside Triton's daughter Pallas and taught of war and strategy - Pallas is about the only positive link made between Poseidon and Athena, she adds, thanks to their nonsensical rivalry, and even then you can't really call her that. Annabeth whispers the tale of Eurydice's one way trip to the underworld and The Fates cruel teasing of her lover Orpheus quietly from the cliff edge, as though The Fates themselves might be listening and become tempted to drag her down into the depths of Tartarus for her own tragic story. Percy wasn't at all jealous of the people she spoke of. Every story seemed to end in tragedy, an accidental murder or a betrayed lover. But Annabeth told each of them so passionately that Percy couldn't help but wish to hear them all over again.

The temple itself was initially made of some sort of limestone called tufa and built by some guy named Pericles but was destroyed by Persian troops when they invaded. After the defeat of Xerxes in the Battle of Salamis (he stifles a chuckle and comments "I didn't realise salami was worth fighting for") the Athenians placed a captured warship at Sounion as an offering or a trophy to Poseidon. Apparently there would've been a twenty foot, bronze statue of the sea god inside the building but the statue, along with twenty two of the original thirty eight columns, is long gone. It's easy to see why she knows so much about the myths of Ancient Greek times: everything seems like a cross between a soap opera and a tragic love story so it can't be difficult to get your teeth into.

That night, after they've had their dinner at the only non-seafood restaurant on the waterfront, Annabeth sets up her tripod on the sand and hits record. The two of them sit peacefully, hands entwined and hips connected, watching the sunset. At some point, Percy drags her to the waters edge and starts mumbling the lyrics to Billy Joel's 'She's Always A Woman' and they stand in the cold of the water in each other's arms. Her hair whips around into his face several times and he stands on something sharp embedded into the sand, but it doesn't really matter. All things considered, Percy thinks the good outweighs the bad by a long shot.

It's about as close to perfect as he dares to imagine. Despite everything that's gone wrong for him, despite Gabe, despite the difficulties that came alongside his childhood, he must be pretty lucky to have ended up here with someone as remarkable as she is. He recounts what she'd told him earlier in the day and mulls it over.

It's simple enough. Annabeth is the embodiment of the goddesses of old, the living proof of strong princesses and heroines. There's Athena in her head, her thoughts and her brain; Hestia in her warmth and passion and kindness; Artemis in her rebellion and her fight; Hecate in her fingertips that cause sparks to surface on his skin every time they touch; Persephone in her playfulness, delicate like the flowers of Demeter but perfect nonetheless; Aphrodite in the way she holds herself with confidence and finally trusts that someone might see the beauty laced throughout her. It's in the gold strands of her hair, the flecks of pure silver in her eyes, the energy that radiates from her smile.

He's never been one for religion and couldn't care less if the Gods of old are real and out there somewhere in the sky watching over him, but a part of him has to believe in them because right here in his arms is living proof of some kind of divine power. Maybe he's a little biased, but there's definitely something in Annabeth that's descended from legends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i remember writing this chapter and being so proud of it omg it was so fun to write


	25. Chapter 25

September 7th

Everything seemed to be coming to fruition. The Halfbloods album dropped at midnight on Friday morning so Percy was lost in interviews, shoots and media appearances and Annabeth was on her way to her first Waitress rehearsal, if you could even call it that.

The auditorium was hauntingly empty when she arrived. The ghost light on stage was humming dutifully as Apollo unlocked the door and let them in, flicking all the switches to start the day. Like Annabeth, Kayla and Katie were part of the January cast change, alongside Luke and Butch who were switching from understudy and swing respectively and into full time parts. With them for today's rehearsal we're two of the current cast members to help them learn the blocking.

Annabeth's script was messy and well-worn with sticky tabs poking out of the top and pages colored with blue highlighter before their first rehearsal - she was nothing if not thorough.

"Starting from the top!" Apollo instructed, ushering everyone up onto the stage.

Waitress was a favorite of Annabeth's and so she liked to think she would pick up the blocking pretty well, but it's a lot more intricate than she had first imagined. After about four attempts at the opening sequence of imaginary pie ingredients, Apollo's helpless call of "Annabeth, the stage is covered in flour!" and many an apologetic wince, they resign themselves to going back to that scene at a later time and move on to Opening Up. Everything from there seems to run pretty smoothly. Kayla makes a wonderful Dawn, Annabeth notices as she watches the younger girl rearrange her glasses - which were certainly a character choice and not prescription, and she has the perfect southern accent to nail When He Sees Me. Of course, Kayla was professionally trained for this business. Annabeth's imposter syndrome settled into her gut and made her feel a little sick.

Or maybe the ill feeling appeared when she noticed the way Luke was looking at her.

His character, Dr Pomatter, didn't appear for a while and so Luke seemed to have made himself comfortable on the front row. Usually, Annabeth would take no notice in the way guys looked at her, she was determined to take no grief from anyone who only dared to sit and judge her. She never had time for guys that would look her up and down the way Luke was, let alone now that she was with Percy.

(The "I have a boyfriend" excuse has come in handy in a few sticky situations because apparently predatory men only seem to back off if they think they're overstepping the territory of a man they've never met, despite the wishes of the woman right in front of them. Of course, Percy would clench his fists and threatened to knock a guy out if they were to ever try something with a woman who was clearly uncomfortable, god forbid they ever tried anything at Annabeth, but they both knew full well that her years at summer camp meant she could pack a pretty lethal punch too and was more than capable of holding her own.)

Nevertheless, Luke's piercing eyes tracked her up and down and she did feel herself start to grow tense.

There first scene together is just dialogue and is easy enough for her to not rely upon her script, but Luke is already comfortably settled in the part and rattles through his lines with practiced ease. He moves around the doctor's bed and makes Annabeth feel dizzy from having to track him with her eyes. He's doing this to bother her, there's no chance the official blocking has Dr Pomatter dancing around his office like a lunatic to get Jenna's attention.

In contrast to Luke's infuriating behaviors, Butch makes her feel more than comfortable. Before they even start the scene, he asks if there's any moves she would rather he did or didn't do that would either help her get into character or trigger anything she'd rather keep hidden. Annabeth doesn't really care what he does, but she appreciates him asking. She supposed it must be common curtesy amongst actors playing abusive husbands on stage to make sure their scene partners are not actually distressed.

Butch appears to be an accurate enough depiction of his name with his rough looking, shaggy hair cut and heavily built body. She actively tries to separate him from any predisposing stereotypes she might hold of a man of his size and obvious strength in her head, but it isn't too difficult to do when he breaks character and beams at her like an excitable puppy waiting to play fetch.

It takes them nearly four hours to get through act one so Apollo calls it to a close as the cast would need a break before their performance later that day.

The entire cab right home, Annabeth quizzes herself on why Luke might've been looking at her like that.

1- He finds her attractive.   
Annabeth found it rather disgusting, not only because she looked like a mess but also because he'd met her twice and already made her feel uncomfortable by the ways his eyes roamed her body.

2- She's reading too deep between the lines.   
In actual fact, Luke doesn't even like her and she's definitely imagining all this creepy behavior.

3- Her hideous orange top is actually considered New York fashion. The shirt is a memoir of her days at a camp in Long Island and has certainly seen better days, but she holds the memories close to her heart. Why Luke felt the need to inspect her fluorescent shirt embroidered with a Camp Olympus logo, she wasn't sure, but it was certainly better than the alternative.

4- Luke was a creep.

Her extensive background checks on the entire Waitress cast and crew have told her that Luke is kind of a creep, his Instagram feed features many photos of him at bars and clubs with his laddish friends. She's sure there'll be something in his Waitress contract that requires him to hold a good public image but that doesn't mean he's a genuinely good person either.

Deciding it wasn't worth the fuss, Annabeth heads over to Percy's apartment like she had planned, stopping on the way there to collect her filming equipment. He'd agreed to take part in a few videos with her to help out her workload. Annabeth had been working extra hard to make sure she had enough footage stored up to be released during her Broadway run, so of course, filming with her favorite person is a necessity.

The title of the video 'boyfriend teaches me guitar' was inevitably going to attract viewers - titles that featured significant others always did, it was common knowledge that people loved to nose in on others love lives.

When the door to his apartment swings open, the smile that was on her face fell immediately.


	26. Chapter 26

September 7th

Grover opens the door, grimacing apologetically to Annabeth. She frowns, trying to establish the problem. Someone shouts. That sounds like a problem.

"You promised me!" Percy's voice caught her attention. He sounded distant, like, he was in another room.

She raises an eyebrow at Grover and he sighs, summarising. "Something he was asked in an interview, he's on the phone to Chiron right now." Nodding thoughtfully, Annabeth heads towards where the sound is coming from and knocks on his bedroom door, opening it slowly.

The tension in his muscles dissipates when he sees her and the next time he speaks, he sound much calmer and more connected. "I told you I didn't want that on the topic list and you agreed. You told me they wouldn't ask and they did. What went wrong?"

In the pause before he speaks again, Percy takes her hand and runs his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm begging you, don't let them air it." His eyes close and he bites his lip. "Okay, let me know before. Thank you."

When he hangs up, they stand in silence for a minute so she takes the opportunity to look him over. Percy's cheeks are flushed pink and his hair pushed back out of his face. She can almost make out the finger tracks across his scalp from where he must have run his fingers through his hair.

"What was that about?" She asks quietly, noting the way doesn't meet her eyes. Instead of answering, he sits on the edge of his bed and puts his head in his hand. "C'mon, Perce, we said we'd be honest with each other. What happened?"

As she sits beside him, he explains what happened.

It had been that same Olympus News reporter, Hera, that seemed to have something out for them. According to Percy, she'd asked about Annabeth but because they'd agreed that was okay, he'd answered truthfully despite the arrogant expression on her face. Then she asked about Annabeth's father.

The subject was still relatively sensitive and so not only does Annabeth refuse to speak about him in any of her videos, Percy had specifically requested that it was added to the list of topics for interviewers to avoid. Hera had most definitely read the list and even signed at the bottom. Besides Annabeth's parents, the list also included Bianca di Angelo - a necessary addition after the success of Whisper, Thalia's brother, Estelle, Will's yearbook quote (it's obvious as soon as you know it as to why you shouldn't speak of it, but most people will never know what it is) and each of their own fathers.

Hera had asked if Percy was going to go to Frederick for 'permission' to marry Annabeth.

Possibly overreacting, Percy had gone off on a rant about how unprofessional it was of her to ask questions she knew to avoid, the disrespect she had written all over her face and, to quote Jake Peralta's feminist speech in Season 5 of Brooklyn Nine Nine, "[Annabeth] is a strong, independent woman and she don't need no man" to give her permission to live her life.

Also he may have stormed off the set and strewn his mic pack onto a chair for it to break. There was also that.

Unsure of what to say, Annabeth wrapped herself around his arm and whispered her thanks. No one had ever defended her like that before, especially not when she wasn't about to hear it. Percy almost seemed ashamed over how he reacted and wasn't trying to gloat about his own morals and self-righteousness, so she knew for sure he hadn't done it for the clout.

His phone rang. Chiron. Percy puts it on speakerphone.

"I'm sorry, Percy, I can't get them to agree to keep it under wraps."

The groan Percy lets out is loud and angry but she takes his hand and raises her eyebrows in warning so he composes himself. "Chiron, they'll edit it. Make it look like I'm a horrible person that hates his girlfriend or something. They'll butcher the footage, you know they will!"

On the other end of the line, Chiron sounds exhaused, like a father trying to console his young son. "I know, Percy, but I have a copy of the unedited recording. An old friend of mine works the cameras there and hates his job more than anything so it didn't take much bargaining. We'll see what gets released and deal with this as it happens. I suggest you keep Annabeth informed."

They both relax at the news. It could all go horribly wrong and make Percy look bad, but they had the un-doctored copy of the interview at their disposal, just in case.

For a good few minutes after the call had ended, Percy just wraps her up in his arms. It was probably to prevent himself from punching something but Annabeth knew to pick her battles.

"I'm sorry, you wanted to film today?" It doesn't really sound like a question.

"Not if you don't want to."

In the end, she adapts the plan. It seems he's not in the best of moods so a less strenuous idea of hers seems to be a better option. She sets up the tripod in front of the couch and starts filming.

"Hello again, today's video is going to be a bit more of a reaction video. I've been avoiding listening to The Halfbloods new album which has become rather difficult seeing as I'm now close friends with the entire band, so I'm keen to finally hear what all of the fuss is about." While Annabeth chatters about copyright issues with the audio, Percy pulls faces behind her to the camera. He knew full well that she wouldn't realise until she edited the footage but it helped to lighten the mood and would make her smile.

"Without further ado... let's begin."


	27. Chapter 27

September 7th

The first song on the album is called 'Kick Up A Storm'. Annabeth's eyes widen with the explosion of the drums as the track begins.

_Midnight strikes_

_You know just want to do_

As soon as she hears Percy's voice, they share a shy smile.

_Running round town_

_We'll be coming for you_

_We're gonna start a fight_

_We're gonna cause a scene_

_We're gonna kick up a storm_

The song is the epitome of The Halfblood's style, harsh and dramatic with a strong bass and heavy drums. Annabeth spends the duration of the song miming her own drumming and catching Percy mid blush.

Next is 'Up All Night' which Annabeth discloses to the camera that she has actually heard. She must remember to edit out the part where Percy asks if she even remembered the night it came out and asks if she wants to reenact the evening (maybe she shoves him away only to pull him back towards her for a kiss but the viewers will never know).

The next few songs - which featured the very poetic title choice of 'Mom, I Missed The Schoolbus' - follow the similar patterns in themes. Annabeth comments on Thalia's ability to "really shred some tunes" on her electric guitar and Percy cringes so hard beside her from secondhand embarrassment. 'Rain' has a bit more of a sombre feel and melancholic motif that dances through the verses and Annabeth's commentary reflects her intentions to cover the song when she next gets the chance.

'The Powers That Be' is instantly her favorite of the ones she's heard, she knows as soon as she hears the introduction. There's a sweet melody plucked on an acoustic guitar and Percy voice hums before the lyrics started.

_A boy by the water_

_Holds his hand out to feel brand new_

_He's sat by his mother_

_They're both out enjoying the view_

_There's a gleam in her eyes as she remembers the days_

_When his father would walk by her side_

_The young boy knows not of what she dreams to see_

_Out in the water_

_The powers that be_

_He grows up in the city_

_Feels so out of place from his peers_

_Longing for the comfort_

_A place to hide away from his fears_

_His mom holds him tightly, says "Son, just be brave_

_For one day you'll make sense of it all"_

_But until that day comes he dreams of a life_

_Down by the water_

_The powers that be_

_But the monsters he faces, they follow him places_

_Can't stop for a moment to breathe_

_And when everything's taken, there must be a mistake_

_He can't seem to find a time to grieve_

_Down by the water_

_He holds out his hand_

_For a moment he sees what she saw_

_The man in the waves_

_He walks out and paves_

_His own way back to the shore_

_And the boy will always recognise the gleam in his eye_

_As he told him the tale of his mom_

_A queen amongst mortals, the woman he loved_

_They met by the water_

_The powers that be_

_One day he'll realise a way back to then_

_Once more he will sit by the sea_

_He'll realise the one thing his mom always knew_

_It comes from the water_

_The powers that be_

It takes the duration of the song to realise Percy has gone quiet and is just watching her. Annabeth raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just that thoughtful look on your face is all. You're stunning."

It wasn't the first time he'd complimented her by a long way, though Annabeth still feels the butterflies swarm her stomach. She tries to decide on her reply based on whether or not she'd be required to edit the footage. In the end, she doesn't need to pick. He brings her back to reality with a light tug on her headphones, a kiss to the cheek and a warning.

"I wrote this next one about you," The words catch her by surprise, it wasn't an introduction she recognised even though she thought she'd heard them all. "I was reluctant to add it to the album but it's a good song. Tugs on the heart strings and all that crap. The song after it will fix it though."

One glance at the phone screen gave her all the information she needed about the song and the memory that had brought it on. 'Shatter Me'.

_Break my heart, like they all do_

_I'm hurting, girl, because of you_

_Can't help but take it back last night_

_The things I said, I know weren't right_

_Knock one back and call it a day_

_A round or so more, thats child's play_

_Blame it on the beer when the phone starts ringing_

_You won't catch me saying this, you'll only catch me singing_

_I'd do anything to see you smile_

_Leave me broken in a ruined pile_

_Beat me back and blue, nothing will matter_

_I'll give you my heart if you want it to shatter_

Before the song finishes, Percy pulls her against his chest and kisses her hair. The conversation they have is silent but she understands him perfectly. He's sorry.

He doesn't owe her an apology but the boy is too damn selfless to realise that.

The next track, 'Love Letters' is another one he's written about her, though all of the pronouns are taken out to make it a bit more vague and mysterious. It also made it easier for Nico to relate to as he sang his own verse of the song. Annabeth had heard the first draft of the song so she's able to hum along to the chorus by the end.

"This is pretty. How much did Thalia hate it?" Annabeth comments, conscious that she would have no footage to upload if they kept having conversations they would want to cut.

He chuckles in response. "Not as much as you'd think. Perhaps she has a soft side after all."

The final song on the album is back in The Halfbloods signature style. 'Blood Of The Earth' is rebellious and brash and to no one's surprise, Thalia takes the lead vocals. It's not particularly Annabeth's style, but it's undeniably well written and will probably feature at every college kids frat parties for the next few years.

"What'd you think?" He asks nonchalantly, though she can tell from the way his eyes scan her face that he's nervous to hear her opinion.

"I think you're going soft, Jackson."

Percy breaks into a smile and rolls his eyes. "I know. I wrote so many sappy ones this year, what is happening?" Leaning towards her, he eyes the camera.

"You can kiss me. I can edit it out."

He does. And she doesn't.


	28. Chapter 28

October 10th

Estelle's tea party was somewhat of an event in the Jackson-Blofis household and Percy was looking forward to today's meeting. He always looked forward to seeing his little sister, but today felt extra special because he hadn't seen her in so long.

He knocked on the door to the apartment armed with a new Flounder stuffed toy for Stella and some flowers for his mom because he was a wonderful son that way.

"Percy!" As soon as the door opened, Estelle flung herself at his legs and jumped until he lifted her up. "I missed you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into his side, something that always made his heart ache to keep her this small and loving forever.

"I missed you too, little guppy." With her in one arm and the flowers and toy gripped tightly in the other, Percy has to nod for his mom to help him out before he can wrap her up in a hug. "Have you been good for mom, huh?" He shifts her so she's higher up his torso and presses a kiss into her hair.

Her short baby hairs tickle his chin and she mumbles about all the things she's done since she last saw him like bake cookies and watch lots of Blue Planet. Sally kisses his cheek and moves to put the flowers in a vase in the kitchen so Percy has a free hand to tickle his sister. She squeals in his arms and he breaks into a wide smile.

Percy and Estelle were practically inseparable when they were with each other. It was possibly to make up for the fact that he was usually busy with band business but he would never complain to have his sister attached to his hip.

"Tea party time!" Estelle shouted, wiggling away from his tickling hands and tottering off to fetch her crown collection.

Using his freedom wisely, Percy kisses his mom's cheek. "Good to see you, mom. How's Paul? How's your book coming along?"

She smiles that warm smile that he remembers from every happy memory from his childhood and pinches his cheeks in the way that makes him feel like an eight year old again. "Paul's good, he got a promotion. Head of department." Sally tips her head in the direction to their office, presumably where Paul is currently at work. "And the book's doing well. I've got a meeting with my publisher next week about a book tour."

Sally Jackson was possibly the greatest woman to ever walk the earth in Percy's humble opinion. She was the best mother, even under their tough circumstances, and she never once raised her voice to him growing up. There was an instance a few years ago where Percy had been spotted by the press beating someone up in a nightclub - he had a good reason but that's besides the point - and she had been furious, but even seven months pregnant, she had been quiet and calm when she chastised him. It was arguably more scary than yelling. She was the greatest inspiration to Percy growing up and she was always there as living proof that bad things happen to the best people and even despite that, you can still have a kind heart. Even at twenty-two years old, he was a mama's boy through and through and was very proud of everything she'd achieved as an author in the last five years.

Estelle returns with 5 crowns and her dad, interrupting Percy's moment of reflection.

"Hey, son." Paul greets Percy with a smile and a fatherly slap on the back. He and Paul had been cautious of each other when they first met. Both of them had loved Sally dearly and where Percy was protective, Paul just saw a troublesome kid. Well, no that's not fair. He saw a kid that was always in trouble. There had been a few years where they'd politely agreed to get along for Sally's sake, but eventually they'd made peace with each other. Besides Chiron, Paul was as close as Percy had to a father. In the last five years, they'd become surprisingly close, especially considering they didn't see an awful lot of each other now that Percy had his own apartment.

Paul lifts Estelle to his hip and she positions a plastic crown on his head. "King Daddy!" Laughing and cuddling into his side, she hands out the other crowns. Her own one is decorated with seashells, jewels and glitter. Percy knew from experience how difficult it would be to wash the glitter out of her hair tonight but you couldn't deny Princess Stella her favorite piece of jewellery. Sally and Percy received their own crowns and then Estelle looked puzzled and lifted the fifth into the air.

"Abeth not here?" She frowned at Percy quizzically.

Oh, so that's who the crown was for. Honestly, Percy thought it might be for Flounder - it wouldn't be the first time her stuffed toys joined in on the crown tradition.

He shook his head. "No, Guppy, she's busy at the minute." Wanting to hide Annabeth's exact whereabouts as to not ruin the surprise - he planned on getting tickets for her opening night and giving them to his mom for her birthday - he mutters something about Hazel being in New York to film. Estelle pouts but the moment is short lived and fixed by Paul providing one of many stuffed toys to wear the crown.

Estelle clambers up onto the couch and calls "Order, order!" before asking what was on today's meeting agenda. Somehow, her parents seem to inform her about current politics such as police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement through the use of fictional kingdoms and citizens. Percy had tried to do something similar once but had ended up going on a rather crude rant about the orange troll that was in charge of the bird kingdom.

In his pocket, Percy's phone beeps. He quickly slides it onto silent. Sally raises an eyebrow when Stella isn't looking but he just shrugs, thinking nothing of it. Then it vibrates. Again. And again.

He shakes his head and apologises, checking his phone.

missed call from Chiron (3)

 **deathbreath** answer the phone

 **pineconeface** have u seen?

Hastily he types out a 'what??' to Thalia before mouthing a sorry to everyone and excusing himself to answer Chiron's next call.

"Get to my place ASAP. Get up to speed on the way here. Get in touch with Annabeth too, she deserves to know what's going on." 


	29. Chapter 29

October 10th

_The Halfbloods lead singer shuts down reporter at the mention of his girlfriend._

_Behind the lyrics of The Halfbloods new album: trouble in paradise for Percy Jackson?_

_Is Percy Jackson getting too big for his boots?_

_Destruction of property and other crimes committed by Percy Jackson_

_Percy Jackson admits he plans on proposing after only two months of dating Youtuber Annabeth Chase_

_10 things you didn't know about Annabeth Chase and her history of abuse_

Percy's heart is racing at a million miles an hour. He's incredibly grateful that Annabeth is at a rehearsal and won't be on her phone. Even so, he left a voicemail warning her to avoid the news and come straight to Chiron's just in case.

The second the cab pulled over, Percy was jogging up the driveway of Chiron's big house. The building was practically a second home to The Halfbloods so he didn't even knock before swinging the door open and shouting for his manager. Nico appeared from the study and eyes his band-mate warily, stepping to one side to let him into the room.

"Have you seen?"

Percy nods stoically, not trusting his voice to remain steady if he spoke.

"What do you want to do?"

There's a moment of silence where Percy ponders how to answer such a broad question. Truthfully, he wants to find that godforsaken woman that conducted the interview and give her a good punch to her hateful sneer, though that would probably just create some more outlandish headlines. This wasn't the first time the press had tried to drag his name through the mud, but it's the first time they've tried to drag Annabeth down with him.

It was like Percy was a bad smell that all the nosy reporters wanted to expose. Though it wasn't fair to him, he didn't have it in him to care. But if they were going to drag down the people he loved with him then he wasn't going down without a fight.

"I need to speak to Annabeth first. This is my fault but it affects her just as much."

Chiron seems to understand and turns back to his computer where he is likely writing a 'strongly worded email' to Hera and Olympus News.

The minute the clock ticks over to 5pm, Annabeth rings.

"Percy, what's going on?" Even across the phone line, he could hear the fear in her voice. "I'm on the way to your managers, but I don't know what's happening. Luke said something about bad press? Is this the interview?"

Percy tries to keep her on the phone for the whole journey, partly because he wants to reassure her but mostly because he was scared. Scared for her to see the mess he'd made and the problems he'd caused. That's always what Percy seemed to do - jump from problem to problem until there was a trail of ruins behind him. It's surprising that they'd survived a two month relationship without him chewing up and spitting out her entire career with some dumb interview where he couldn't keep a hold of his emotions.

Although that's exactly what's happening right now, so maybe he hadn't gotten away with it.

She stumbles out of her cab twenty minutes later looking more than a little distressed. Her dance bag is thrown over one shoulder, her script is falling apart in her hands and her face is red and sweaty but a small part of him revels in her beauty even so.

But that's besides the point.

"Annabeth," He wraps an arm around her and helps her get a good enough grip of her script to slide it into her bag. As if she's the missing piece of his puzzle, Annabeth tucks neatly into his side.

They don't say another word until her stuff is set aside in one corner of the office and they're sat on Chiron's soft, teal couch. In the silence, Nico hands her his phone.

From beside her, Percy watches her eyes glass over as they skim the headlines. The moment she bites her lip, his arms wrap around her.

"They think- Good god, Percy, I know my dad's hardly father of the year but he's not-" She presses on the article and he's quick to take Nico's phone from her grasp.

"I wouldn't recommend reading them, trust me. It's like rubbing salt in a wound."

Something behind Annabeth's eyes hardens and she sits up a little straighter. "So what do we do now?"

~~~

Seeing Annabeth in this kind of light makes her look infinitely more incredible. She tightens her ponytail as if she's going to war and sits through the three minute video of Percy blowing up on Olympus News. Somehow, she talks through all of the differences in the original footage from Chiron's friend and the doctored footage, noting every word that doesn't sound quite right or every syllable that was cut together to form something that never came out of Percy's mouth.

"Here, watch Percy's shirt." She pressed play on the video and sure enough, the camera changes and Percy's top button is magically done up. "In the original footage, the button comes undone about halfway through. Same goes in the doctored footage until they cut back to this shot to make the sentence look smooth. The button is done up for a split second."

Percy frowned. "So, are we releasing the original footage? What's the plan?"

Chiron and Annabeth take the lead in explaining what needs to be done, who needs to do it and how. It makes a change from Thalia bossing him around at the very least - though with her currently visiting San Francisco, she can't possibly lead this operation. Like any obedient boyfriend would, he writes out what Annabeth dictates to him onto an Instagram story post and adapts it into his own wording.

_I really wish I didn't have to make this statement._

_The media will lie to you and twist people's words to get the headlines they want. I'm not going to tell you what articles to believe or what reporters to trust, but I will tell you that that footage is not an accurate depiction of what happened that day._

_Interviews can often feel pretty invasive and for that reason, we usually have a list of subjects we don't want to speak about. On that list was the topic of Annabeth's parents. This request was blatantly ignored by the hosts and made for a very hostile environment._

_I'll admit my response was likely an overreaction, but in an already tense and uncomfortable interview, such a reaction seemed inevitable._

_I'm fairly sure this isn't everything I'll say on the matter but I'm not sure I know how to get across what I want to say in the correct manner so I'm going to end it here._

"Happy?" He asked, ginger hovering over the 'share' button.

Annabeth nodded. "It's alright by me."

That was all the assurance Percy needed before he hit the button and logged out of his account.


	30. Chapter 30

October 28th

In the last few weeks, the press seemed to have laid off all of the rumors of the engagement, abuse and 'criminal' behaviour that arose from that interview. Annabeth had made a quick video that cleared up any misconceptions of what happened and someone had anonymously released the un-doctored footage to the public. They had their suspicions as to who had done it but it was better their suspicions remain just that just in case anyone was to question the legitimacy of the whole thing.

They intended to put the whole thing behind them. Better things were on the horizon and Annabeth's diary was bursting at the seams from all the events she was to look forward to.

Today, Annabeth had to be at a photography studio for 10am to shoot some pro-shots. It was all for advertising purposes, but she was looking forward to it all the same. This would be the first time she would wear her costume and her wig for the part. Everything was starting to feel so real, just as real as the feeling of her stomach clenching when she saw the countdown until January 11th.

She'd gone for a run half an hour earlier that morning to allow enough time to get to the studio (Percy had been pretty frustrated when she had ruined his lie in but that's on having a cuddly boyfriend - not that she was about to complain) and as per Apollo's instructions, she had tied her freshly washed hair into a loose braid so that someone could guide her through pin curls and wig application. Hurriedly, Annabeth applied a small amount of makeup, gathered her bags and said goodbye to Percy.

The studio was difficult to find and consequently she had to jog between a few buildings. She was certain it was somewhere on this block, though it still took twenty minutes and a hasty google search for her to realise she was looking on the wrong side of the street.

Kayla greeted her in the lobby, her wig already on and styled with a pink scrunchie.

"Annabeth, you're here!" She gasped, shoving her into the next room. "They're shooting Luke at the minute so we have about 10 minutes to get you ready. Get this on and then I'll help you pin your hair."

Once again, Annabeth got ready in record breaking speed. The costume, a pale blue dress and waitresses apron, was made to fit and slipped on like a glove. She felt a rush of pride when she opened the small plastic bag with brand new 'Jenna' badge inside and pinned it to her shirt. Not even a moment later, Kayla tugged her hair loose from the braid and dragged a brush through it. Annabeth winced but knew better than to complain - they were already tight for time.

"Right, can we get the girls, Jenna, Dawn and Becky?"

She cursed as Kayla tried to shove a curly, blonde wig on her head. It had been made to resemble her own hair though as Annabeth felt the pins dig into her scalp, she couldn't help but wish she didn't have to wear it.

"Here, let me help." The photographer speaks again, setting her camera down by the bags of flour that are stacked up on a coffee table. Annabeth watches in the mirror as she holds the front of the wig down to her forehead and pulls it over her scalp. She appreciates her style, sort of preppy with an edge scary goth girl - though maybe it was less scary and more theatrical. "My name's Paris, by the way. Big fan of yours."

Annabeth couldn't help but blush at the compliment as she watched Paris trim the lace of the wig, the small beads weaved amongst the braids in her hair catching the light. She finishes quickly and swipes a brush of highlighter across Annabeth's cheeks and nose.

"Right, let's get to it." Paris' camera is in her hands again and she's instructing them to pick up a dash of flour each. The flour sticks to her clammy hands as she stands before the camera listening to the countdown before the three of them take a breath and blow. Kayla coughs as she inhales the puff of flour and the photographer chuckles. "Shall we try that again?"

It takes several attempts but finally Paris grins and shows them the camera screen before ushering Annabeth in front of the white screen for some solo shots. "Finger on your chin, look thoughtful." Knowing just what to do from the previous Waitress adds, she looks over to one side, purses her lips slightly and and tilts her head. It seems to please the photographer because the camera shutter snaps several times and then she finishes, satisfied.

They spend another few hours posing and by the end of the morning Annabeth's cheeks hurt from the constant smiling. It's almost a relief when someone helps her prise the wig from her forehead, though she's become strangely attached the dam thing. Kayla giggles at the state of their hair when they release the pin curls which admittedly does look pretty funny...

She sends a selfie to Percy.

Apollo floats in with his usual air of arrogance. "Two weeks till the announcement goes public, amigos." He announces, throwing his gym bag down unceremoniously at Luke's feet. Even despite her dislike of him, she pities Luke because she can smell that bag from here.

After what feels like hours of awkward silence and the occasional piece of advice from Apollo, they finally pack up and leave. Feeling somewhat peckish, Annabeth and Kayla head to a cafe across the street and order some food.

Since they'd found out they were wearing wigs, Kayla had dyed her hair florescent green which made her stand out against the vintage style of the cafe. Apollo had been thrilled (note the sarcasm) when she'd shown up to rehearsal looking like she was cosplaying as her own highlighted script, but despite the outlandish colors, Annabeth had to admit it did suit her.

"So, are you announcing the part on your Youtube too? Or are you trying to separate them?" Kayla questioned. 

Truthfully, she hadn't even considered keeping them separate. Most of the important aspects of her life were on her channel, why should her Broadway debut be any different?

"I wasn't planning on announcing it as such, but I wasn't going to hide it." Her answer sounded a little timid.

Kayla shrugged from behind her burger. "You do you. I just figured that you might want to keep your theatre stuff separate. I know you're talented and you more than deserve this part, but it's still stunt casting. People might accuse you of only getting it for your fame if you try and advertise it too much."

Maybe now wasn't the right time for Annabeth to think about the clause in her contract that required her to draw attention to the show. There was a pang in her chest at the thought that her success was only on account of her following but the subject was unavoidable and she would have to have that conversation on her channel eventually.

 **percyjackson18** lookin as beautiful as ever

At least that was able to bring a smile to her face. Still, Annabeth couldn't help but feed the nagging thought that was manifesting in her brain.


	31. Chapter 31

December 4th

"With us at the moment, we have The Halfbloods!" Persephone, the new Olympus News front woman, spoke loudly over the hoards of fans. "You're in for a treat, ladies and gentlemen. Nico, Can you tell us what we're going to hear from you tonight?"

A microphone is shoved in Nico's face and he splutters a little before clearing his throat and talking through their set list.

Times Square was packed with clusters of people all here for the broadcast. The cold air nipped at Percy's ears and he rubbed his hands together to stop his fingers going numb. It would be a tough performance in this weather, but the crowd would love it. There was something so exhilarating about performing outside like this. Perhaps it was something to do with being able to perform all out without melting under stage lights before you've even started, or maybe he would chalk it down to knowing that the whole world could be listening. Yes, he knew that was scientifically impossibly because of the speed of sound waves and something about air particles (Annabeth had tried explaining it one time) but that didn't have to stop him from giving this performance his everything.

It was only a measly little showcase used to advertise their tour, but having not performed live since London over six month ago, it felt like a debut all over again.

They begin with a few revamped Christmas songs they released on December 1st. It felt strange to be singing about sweet, baby Jesus alongside a heavy bass and a rock and roll drum line - especially because none of them are particularly religious - but it's all part of the job.

Percy takes a long swig from a bottle of water between songs, thankful that Thalia was taking the lead and singing Blood of the Earth. It gave him an opportunity to get his breath back while focusing on the guitar which kept his fingers warm from movement. He catches a glimpse of Will and Grover in the window of the nearest Starbucks. Percy cursed the fact that they were sheltered in the warmth of the cafe while the band had to be out here freezing to death in little more than a t-shirt and jeans in order to keep up their punk reputation. Apparently coats didn't fit the dress code.

The set ends with a strangely upbeat rendition of Carol of the Bells before the three of them wave to the crowds and dash into the tent they were using as backstage. Silena is sat, knees tucked against her chest, on a wooden bench, but she straightens as they enter and is quick to help fix Thalia's smudged makeup. Packing up his guitar, Percy catches sight of one of their tech crew helping Nico out of his headset.

The guy is broad shouldered and a head taller Percy. Despite the fact that he looked like the human embodiment of the Hulk, he doesn't look at all intimidating because of the rosey blush that decorated his nose and cheeks when he was caught smiling at Silena as she worked. He helps detach Percy's mic pack from where it's strapped around his waist.

"Silena, huh? You must be Charlie." Percy says quietly, recalling the conversations between Silena and Drew that he often zones out of.

As he tucks the sound equipment into a box, he clears his throat. "The names Charles Beckendorf." His voice is deep. "Does Silena, uh... Does she talk about me a lot?" Charles' rich, mahogany complexion is engulfed in a pink blush but Percy just smirks.

They sit for a few minutes as Silena works on their faces, wiping off the sweat that had built up from the performance and powdering them down to make them each look more presentable. Someone throws a shirt in his direction so Percy switches, grateful that the new one is freshly dried and still warm. It's a short lived relief but it manages to take the edge of the biting wind.

"Ready for round two?" Thalia asks, thumping his back much harder than should be considered friendly.

Round two turns out to be another twenty minute interrogation with Persephone, though Percy finds himself thanking the heavens that it's her and not Hera. He didn't want to deal with her judging sneer again. Obviously, they discuss the ablum and the tour and Nico is bombarded with questions about Will (who recently posted a photo of the two of them in a sunflower field and aparently that's code for 'we're getting married!') which he awkwardly shrugged off. When Annabeth is brought up, he's had more than enough time to prepare.

"Big things to come from yourself and Miss Chase. I take it you're going to be there for her opening night?" Persephone smiles sweetly, though Percy can't help but wonder if it's genuine.

"I hope so," He chuckles to be rid of his nerves. "Waitress is my moms favorite show so I'm planning to get tickets and go with her."

Persephone nods, her purple eyeshadow shimmering under the harsh, white streetlights. "That sounds nice. And then you'll be off on your own tour. Can we expect Annabeth to make any guest appearances?"

All eyes turn to Nico, sitting there with a dazed smile on his face. Percy thinks he must be remembering the time where Will joined them onstage one time to be serenaded.

"I'm not too sure. Annabeth's obviously going to be busy on stage when we start touring and we're still not certain how long her run will last."

"The fans can only hope." Persephone let out an airy laugh before turning to speak to Thalia.

They finish up pretty quickly after that and are ushered back into their tent. Clearly not expecting them back so soon, Silena and Charles pull away from each other suddenly, both bright red. Thalia scoffs, vocalising her annoyance than everyone seemed to be pairing off but no one paid her any mind.

Grover waits by a cab with Percy's favorite s'mores frap. It looks a little dejected as the whipped cream seemed to have sunk but that won't make it taste anything less that heavenly.

"So," Grover elbows him in the ribs as they drive of to their apartment. "Christmas is just around the corner. Have you got your gifts sorted?"

In their ten years of friendship, Grover seemed to be the one that kept them both on track with this kind of thing. He never forgot a birthday, he always made sure to check in on people and he was the first person Percy would go to for advice. It made sense that Grover would check in on any presents Percy had planned, especially after the one year when he had very nearly bought Thalia a skydiving experience.

When he pouted at Grover's question, the answer was obvious enough.

"Okay, so that's a no. Who's causing the trouble?"

Their journey was filled with discussions as to what gifts he should and shouldn't get. Apparently buying Piper earplugs was "inappropriate" and "not to be joked about". A few ideas got the nod of approval, a vinyl for Nico and the complete modern Shakespeare collection told entirely through emojis and text talk for Paul. Of course, Sally was getting Waitress tickets, but she already knew about those so Percy planned to buy a bracelet charm too.

"I'm stuck with Annabeth, man." He sighed, watching the lights outside blur as they drove down the street. "I want it to be special, but the relationship's still so new. A promise ring seems a bit cliche."

Grover shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Perce, you know her better than I do. Try something practical. If it's crap you could always get her a good Broadway debut present to make up for it."

The conversation ended abruptly when Percy started pestering Grover, trying to find out what presents he had bought for everyone. It was a recurring scenario in which he never got any answers, but he chuckled at Grover's panic anyway. He made a mental note to add the coupons to that enchilada place that he had accumulated into Grover's present as an extra thank you for putting up with him for yet another year.


	32. Chapter 32

December 26th

Christmas was not particularly Annabeth's favorite holiday. She didn't hold the fondest memories of it from her childhood and though she hadn't recently had a 'bad Christmas' in her adult life, it wasn't something she looked forward to quite the same way other people did.

It was convenient that Piper didn't celebrate either. Of course, they always participated in the gift giving, seasons greetings and such, but that was mostly just to accommodate their friends and family who took it as a personal insult when they don't get any presents in return. (Annabeth was unsure as to why people insisted presents were optional if her stepmother practically placed an order for Bobby and Matthew's every year, but that was besides the point.)

Other than the decorative bowl of festive treats that they'd positioned on the coffee table, the apartment was oblivious to any of the celebrations that were happening outside. A small pile of gifts had gathered next to the couch, but they were waiting for their guests arrived to hand them out.

Christmas Day itself had been pretty low-key. Piper and Annabeth had spent the day wrapped in blankets and watching hallmark Christmas movies, Luna fast asleep in her new bed, and making phone calls to their families. Piper's dad was spending the holidays at his second house somewhere in Hawaii, though he never thought to invite his daughter, so they had arranged a Facetime call that evening to accommodate time zones. Frederick didn't have quite the same organisation skills ("it's only because my dad has a secretary" Piper remarked) and had called Annabeth mid-movie. It had been an awkward conversation as it usually was. He wished Annabeth well and said that her gift had been posted last week so she could expect that soon, he also wished her good luck for her opening night. She took that as his excuse to avoid calling more than necessary. They had made a habit of calling on their birthday's and on Christmas. One more call was certainly pushing it.

All parental complaints aside, today was bound to be much more enjoyable. Jason had travelled overnight to get to Manhattan in time for dinner, Percy was due any moment and Hazel, Frank and Leo had all agreed to join a group Skype call for a festive quiz Hazel had organised.

Piper let out a very uncharacteristic squeal when security called up to say Jason had arrived. It was understandable though, where Annabeth and Percy had spent yesterday apart, the other couple hadn't seen each other since she'd visited San Francisco last month. (The image of their reunion was burned into Annabeth's retina's, despite her attempts to hide somewhere where she wouldn't have to witness it.)

The moment Percy arrived, dinner was served. It was nothing special - store bought pizzas, a mixed salad and a large bowl of fries - but that wasn't important. The company made it all the more enjoyable and even Jason and Percy managed to get on surprisingly well, especially considering they'd only met a handful of times. Throughout the evening, Percy and Piper made terrible jokes, an awful mess and broke half the furniture in an attempt to do a backwards walkover in their very confined living space, leaving their significant others to sigh and watch them wreak havoc.

As the afternoon seeped into the evening, the four of them gathered around the small stack of a presents. Percy and Jason had added their own to the pile since this morning but it still looked a little neglected. Twelve badly wrapped gifts were pushed into the centre of the room and they lounged around them, none of them really caring to sit nicely on the couch.

"Grover told me earplugs was pushing it a little." Percy laughed when Piper opened her gift, a set of noise cancelling headphones. The comment earned an eye roll and elbow to the ribs from Annabeth as she tried to cover her flaming cheeks.

Having already received a new diary from Jason, decorated with pies and baking ingredients as a nod to Waitress and a coffee machine to go in her dressing room curtesy of Piper, Annabeth eagerly unwrapped her final gift.

"Look, it's nothing much..." Percy started. When she caught his eye, she noted the light coloring that dusted his cheeks and the small smile. When she raised an eyebrow, he just shook his head head as if to say 'not now'.

She grinned when she saw it: a humidifier to steam her voice. "Very practical." Annabeth patted the box. "Thank you."

The evening was filled with maniacal laughter. Somehow, Annabeth had managed to follow Leo's instructions and connect her laptop to the television so that their Skype call could be broadcast around the apartment in high definition (which was anything but desirable when Leo insisted on sitting so close to the camera to show off the new temporary tattoo that decorated his face). Hazel's quiz didn't disappoint and even Annabeth felt challenged with the obscure questions thrown in her direction. She caught Percy and Piper trying to sneak a look over her shoulder throughout the night but aside from her sceptical glare, she kept quiet and decided to let them get away with it. Call it the festive spirit and all that.

Annabeth sits, legs tucked under herself on her bed, across from Percy. She can't help but study his face as he eyes the floor, chewing his lip has he taps rhythmically on the desk beside him.

"Careful, you're gonna burn a whole in my carpet." She warns, earning his attention.

Percy looks up sheepishly. "Sorry." Before she can ask what's bothering him, he's positioned himself so he sits beside her, hand fumbling in his jacket pocket for something. "I, uh- I got you something else too... There's a whole story behind it. It was going to be a promise ring because I know you like the idea of permenance, but I didn't think you'd appreciate such a big promise so soon. I don't know. Just know that it can totally be a promise ring if that's what you want. Or a promise- well. I'll let you..."

The words seem to fall out of his lips as he presses the box into her palm. It's not wrapped so she can tell immediately that it's some type of jewellery. When she looks up at Percy, his eyes are bright and alert, flickering about her face as if to see what she makes of it.

As soon as she lifts the lid, she knows how much thought went into the gift. She can hear Percy take in a breath and he doesn't seem to relax until she speaks again.

"This is beautiful..." And it is. The chain is delicate and thin and a blend of yellow and rose gold that seems to blend perfectly with her skin. Hanging from the chain is a small charm in the shape of a star. It's rounded, presumably so the points don't pierce her skin when she wears it, but still intricate and discrete.

Percy itches the back of his neck as he smiles. "I know they said no jewellery on stage but I ran it by Apollo and it'll be covered by all your costumes. If you wanted it on you then you could. I know you were disappointed that you couldn't wear your dad's college ring." He babbles as Annabeth feels emotion building in the back of her throat. His gift was so thoughtful (and all she'd gotten him was a guitar strap with her name on in the largest font possible as a joke and a new songwriting book) and he was clearly anxious for her reaction.

"Percy, it's perfect. Thank you."

His smile widens and Annabeth holds the necklace out to him so he can fit the clasp for her. When she faces him again, she narrows her eyes and inspects his face. Laughing, Percy's lips pull into a smirk to match her own.

"What?"

"Nothing, just that I-" She stops herself before she finishes the sentence, knowing full well what she'd end up saying afterwards. Sure, she knew it was true. She just wasn't quite ready to say it out loud yet. Or maybe she wasn't ready for him to say it back. "Can I kiss you now?"

Well, of course he doesn't say no.


	33. Chapter 33

January 11th

His collar felt suffocating around his neck and his shoes felt like they were going to end up giving him blisters, but he tried to put the nagging thoughts aside. Tonight wasn't about him after all.

 **absoluteannabeth** FYI im terrified

 **absoluteannabeth** why on earth did i agree to this

Percy rolled her eyes at her nervous texts as he typed out a reply.

 **percyjackson18** because broadway is your dream and your insanely talented

 **absoluteannabeth** *you're

 **percyjackson18** shut up and stop whining, chase. you got this

"I know you're in love and all, Kelp Head, but the guy needs an answer." Thalia was looking at him expectantly. Being useless, he just looked between her and the cab driver with his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

She huffed. "Where are we off to? It's too early to head to the theatre."

A glance at his watch told him it was indeed to early to arrive at the theatre so he shrugged and suggested going to his mom's apartment. Thalia rolled her eyes and said something to the driver before muttering about Percy's incompetence, though truthfully he wasn't really listening. His mind was preoccupied with other things, much more important things such as how wild his year had been.

This time last year, he was drowning himself in music and desperately trying to write a song that would be worthy of their up-and-coming world tour, something that had seemed so daunting to innocent, little, 21 year old Percy. Now, he was at ease with his fame, confident in his songwriting abilities and in his most stable and happiest relationship to date. Of course, he and Annabeth had their ups and downs. She had nearly killed him when he shook his hair after a shower in an attempt at an impression of Luna, the water droplets had made her schedule go all crinkly and her laptop screen needed wiping again thanks to the streaks he'd created. But so far she hadn't threatened to dump him so he was going to take the win.

Percy may be an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. Things wouldn't always be smooth sailing between them, especially not while they navigated being on stage every night and halfway across the world from each other, but he hoped they could pull through it. For tonight, none of that mattered. Tonight was all about Annabeth.

Thalia whispered to herself under her breath as they took the elevator to Sally's apartment, clearly regretting saying yes to Sally's insists that she take Paul's extra ticket for tonight.

"Stop complaining, Grace, or I'll take Stella instead. I'm sure she'd be better behaved anyway."

They had five tickets on the front row of the upper circle thanks to Annabeth's insider knowledge as to which seats were best in the house and her ability to reserve seats for family and friends. She had given two to Piper and Jason, seeing as he was still in the city and currently living in their apartment it was almost cruel to leave him behind, and the others to Percy, Sally and Paul. It was no secret that Percy's little sister was as much of a hyperactive child as he had been and it probably wasn't the most three-year-old friendly show anyway so it had been Sally's decision that Estelle wouldn't come and Paul would stay home with her. Therefore Thalia had been subjected to Sally's pleading eyes and offer of blue cookies for an interval snack at the theatre.

It was all very confusing.

 **absoluteannabeth** please promise me you'll meet Nyssa at the end, im gonna be sobbing, bet

Annabeth must be stressed, she wasn't usually one for being on her phone while working. He went through the plan that she had drilled into his head that morning before he replied.

 **percyjackson18** of course, dont worry about me. put your phone down, drink some tea and do your funny little rubber chicken warm up :)

His mom's apartment smells of freshly baked cookies when they walk in and Thalia's stomach grumbles audibly. The glare she sends him makes the laugh catch in his throat. Despite it being only early in the evening, Stella is sat on the kitchen counter in her pyjamas, fingers scooping up any of the leftover cookie dough from the bowl. When she spots Percy, he has to hold a hand out to stop her running up to him. As much as he hated wearing it, he didn't want her messy finger prints to ruin his smart shirt.

"Get your hands washed, little star." Percy says, walking over to the sink with her and greeting his mom with a kiss on the cheek.

They eat dinner with Estelle acting as a entertainment, cracking jokes and performing her favorite numbers from Disney movies. As it neared seven, they said their goodbyes to Estelle and Paul and called a cab to the theatre. Once again, Thalia spent the drive rolling her eyes at Percy as he typed out some last minute reassurance to Annabeth as she panicked over her half hour call.

The house is already open when they arrive and they make their way to their seats and to where Piper sits, tapping away on her phone. As he side steps between the seats and the barrier, Piper smiles tightly at him.

"I presume you're getting a similar number of messages as me?" Piper asks, holding up her phone to an open conversation with Annabeth. In response, Percy shows her his recent notifications. Her eyes flick past him to see Sally and Thalia take their seats. "Oh hey, Thalia, nice to see you." She greets, clearly noticing Paul's absence.

Jason calls over from the end of the row and Piper nods, going to help him carry the drinks back to their seats. That's when Percy finds out something's wrong.

Finger poking in his ribs, Thalia leans across Sally to snarl at Percy. "You didn't tell me anyone else was here. You didn't- Is that Jason?" Wide eyed, he looks at Sally who just shrugs. Thalia sags in her seat and runs her hand through her hair.

Totally unsure of what the issue is, Percy is content to leave the situation and chatter to his mom. Sally was smiling widely, telling him just how much she loved the show.

"This show reminded me just how much I fell in love with my baby boy the moment I laid eyes on him. No matter the difficulties." She said, squeezing his cheeks and making him turn pink. He would never be ashamed of his mom. Ever. Even at the ripe old age of twenty-two. But she was still capable of making him embarrassed when there was a theatre full of people capable of overseeing her mollycoddling him.

The lights turned down as Jason and Piper made their way to their seats and handed out the drinks. If Percy had paid attention, he might've noticed the way Jason looked taken aback when he handed Thalia a glass, but he was too busy watching the curtain rise to reveal Annabeth stood in her blue waitress dress in a bright white spotlight.

Even when the lights rose on the rest of the stage, she was the only thing he could see.


	34. Chapter 34

January 11th

Everything was going a million miles an hour. Her head was reeling and the seconds hand on the clock was circling around the centre much faster than Annabeth thought was acceptable. She'd sipped on three full bottles of water over the course of the day and consequently had to keep excusing herself to go to the bathroom, so maybe she could say her nerves were getting the better of her. Ideally, Annabeth would have vlogged her day, however she'd hidden her camera away at the half hour call to stop herself anxiously babbling to no one in particular.

"Ready, honey?" Katrina says, patting her shoulders as Annabeth stares down her reflection, thumb rubbing the star on her necklace. Not daring to open her mouth for fear that she might actually be sick, she swallows hard and shakes her head. "You're going to be amazing, trust me." Her fingers play with Annabeth's honey blonde curls, styled nicely by the wig designer.

Annabeth typed a hasty 'wish me luck' message to Percy and Piper and downed the rest of her tea - peppermint, as per Sally's recommendation - before standing to stretch.

Kayla and Butch were in the corridor between their dressing rooms, jumping up and down and humming their scales. Katrina walked out to join them, adding a harmony a third below as she touched up her makeup in the mirror, some of her copper brown lipstick coming off onto her finger. Annabeth did some lip rolls, shaking her hands and feet like she used to do before her high school shows. She felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Kayla laugh with Butch, nerves barely bothering her at all. It could possibly be because Kayla was only making her debut in this show and not Broadway altogether, but Annabeth couldn't help but watch her with envy.

"No pressure, Chase, but the house is packed." Luke's hand landed on her waist.

Adjusting her dress as an excuse to move away from him, Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Real comforting, Luke, thanks for that."

He wasn't even in costume yet, something she's tempted to comment on before she remembers that he's done the show before and knows exactly how much time he has to get ready. "It's part of my charm."

When she raises an eyebrow, he sighs and leans against the mirror to obstruct her view. "Seriously, Annabeth. I know you're terrified, but we've all been there. You know your stuff." Luke's words were surprisingly reassuring. She was about to thank him but he continued. "And on the off chance you don't, we're all professionals here, we'll help cover you."

Annabeth didn't want to point out that the offer was next to useless for the numerous times she would be all alone on stage, instead deciding to smile tightly at him. "Thanks, Luke."

"This is your beginners call, please can all act one beginners head to the stage." A tinny voice says over the sound system. Annabeth allows herself a second to breathe, eyes shut and lips pursed.

Katrina wraps an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her cheek and walking her to the stage. "Get out there and show them what you've got, my love." Grateful for the older woman's support, Annabeth sighed contently before heading to her starting position centre stage.

"I'm gonna be sick." Annabeth mutters to herself just before the lights go down, earning a chuckle from the ensemble members within listening distance.

The audience applauds and the voice over begins, forcing Annabeth to rid herself of any thoughts besides what she needed to do onstage.

_Sugar,_   
_Sugar,_   
_Sugar, butter,_   
_Sugar, butter,_   
_Sugar, butter, flour,_   
_Sugar, butter, flour,_

The lights go up and Annabeth thanks every higher power she can think of that she can only make out the sillouettes of the first two rows of audience members.

_Sugar, butter, flour,_   
_Sugar, butter, flour,_   
_Sugar, butter, flour,_

Annabeth starts singing.

Her heart is pounding in her mouth up until the moment she stands between Katrina and Kayla, aprons unfolded and positioned ready to tie them around their waists. She knew the choreography, she knew the songs, she knew her lines. She had rehearsed this endlessly. And finally she had an audience. Instead of letting her feelings get her down, she channelled her nervous energy into the performance. For tonight, it could be a character choice.

Ironically, her first moment to breathe was when she was singing her solo. With a split second to get her breath back before she came in with the second verse, she let herself acknowledge how strange and new everything felt. Singing about Jenna's mom hit a nerve but Annabeth was a professional at repressing her feelings on that, so she pushed it out of her mind. There was another moment during Club Knocked Up where she was offstage to hurry into her hospital gown and someone had held a water bottle out for her to sip. Granted, she knew that wouldn't happen every night but she was grateful people were helping her out. Despite the pit full of butterflies in her stomach, She managed to get through act one with the only hiccup being when Kayla knocked a pot of glitter ingredients off the table and Annabeth had to pick it up without a fuss.

The curtain went down at the end of Bad Idea and even despite having Luke on top of her, Annabeth felt like she could breathe properly again. He smirked and stood up, offering a hand to help her up from the hospital bed.

"Gotta say, Chase, I'm impressed."

Thankfully, Luke didn't hang around her for too long. Or maybe he did, she didn't really know. Within seconds of the lights lifting again, Katrina, Butch, Kayla and Archie - the man on for Ogie - had crowded around her in a group hug. They let themselves just wait there and enjoy the blissful realisation that they were halfway there before breaking apart to enjoy their twenty minute break.

Twenty minutes seems like a lot when you think of it in relation to sitting in the auditorium waiting for the second act to begin (or perhaps not if you were unlucky enough to need to queue for a drink or the bathroom) but backstage, twenty minutes was barely enough time for a swig of water, a bite of toast to quell the rumbling of her stomach, a toilet trip and a costume change. Granted, her costume change was just the added padding that would give her the beginnings of a pregnant belly but it did involve wriggling out of her dress and in again.

When she got the five minute call and knew that she was suitably ready, Annabeth took a seat on the couch in her dressing room and opened her phone.

 **hyperpiper** always knew my best friend was a superstar x

 **hyperpiper** you're killing it out there, beth

 **percyjackson18** told you you would smash it ;)

 **percyjackson18** i think youve taken moms top spot of favorite performer - idk if i'm offended or not bc your my favorite too

 **percyjackson18** *youre, i did for you

 **percyjackson18** but srsly i'm so proud of you xxx

 **percyjackson18** b4 you stress, weve waved to nyssa so she knows where were sat. ill meet you backstage afterwards

 **percyjackson18** your a superstar xxx

 **percyjackson18** you're

After sending a hurried reply to both of them, she snapped a selfie of her and her cast mates grinning but looking rather worn out and made her way back to the stage. In the wings, she made sure all her props were where she expected them to be - she rarely had to bring them on herself but it would ease her mind to know that whoever did bring them on would have no trouble finding them.

"This is your beginners call, please can all act two beginners head to the stage."

With a new found confidence and a skip in her step, Annabeth made her way to the centre of the stage.


	35. Chapter 35

January 11th

Everyone was crying.

Okay, maybe not everyone was crying. It was easy to presume everyone was when his own eyes were swimming in tears. And Percy doesn't cry at just anything.

(That might also be a lie... he cried at Finding Dory every time they watched the movie. Sue him.)

In any case, Piper and his mom were on either side of him dabbing at their faces with tissues and someone on the row behind was definitely ugly sobbing. Even when things had gotten bad in Act Two and he'd watched a fake-pregnant Annabeth fall to her knees as her hopes of a better life were ripped from her grasp, Percy was determined to blink the tears out of eyes and pretend he wasn't touched by the show. Despite the inkling of jealousy he felt when the handsome, blonde doctor kissed Annabeth (he knew it was part of the job, but really would any sane boyfriend feel okay during that?) he was quite proud of his ability to remain unbothered right up until the very end, though his lip had started quivering during She Used To Be Mine. He'd lost whatever part of him was holding back the flood of tears when the young girl playing Lulu ran across the stage to bow with Annabeth, curly blonde pigtails swinging by her ears. It was only a few tears, nothing that could damage his rock star image, though he would still prefer no one to catch him in the act.

He whooped and hollered as Annabeth blew a kiss to the audience. Even from where he sits, he can swear her cheeks are wet with tears.

So, yes, everyone was crying. Everyone there that mattered to him.

The auditorium cleared out and Piper darts up to the lighting box to find Nyssa. Percy's mom clung to his arm as they're guided down some back corridors and down some stairs that lead backstage. As they turned a corner, Percy paused.

"We're down two." He frowned, noticing the absence of Jason and Thalia.

"Oh, they headed out." Piper spots his confused faced. "They had some stuff to do, I think." Before he can question it, Piper's expression changes and he catches a hint. Don't ask.

As the final door swung open Percy hears a large crowd cheering. Nyssa points them to the stage and he smiles when he spots her.

Annabeth is stood in the centre of the stage, the young blonde girl on her hip. The girls that Percy recognised as Dawn and Becky were hovering around her, periodically hugging her and snapping photos. Amidst the fuss, Annabeth spotted him stood off to one side and her face split into a grin.

"Hey," She greeted, walking over. "This is Ella." Ella smiles shyly and tucks her head onto Annabeth's shoulder, face partially covered by her hair. Up close, Ella looks like she might actually be related to Annabeth. He realises that it was done on purpose so that she could pass as her daughter, but it was still jarring to see them together. The part of him that has set his sights on forever with Annabeth doesn't fail to notice the green of Ella's eyes and the familiar slope of the bridge of her nose that he saw every time he looked in the mirror. Give it a few years and Percy imagined that Ella is exactly what their child would look like. (The thought is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.)

Her eyes go to Piper, who is frantically typing on her phone. "Piper, can you just take a photo of Ella and I?" The two blondes pose for the camera and then Ella hurried off with her chaperone and disappeared backstage.

Annabeth softened, shoulders relaxing. "I need to be quick, Harley's going to want my headset."

He stands for a moment, just taking her in. He recognises the gleam of sweat on forehead and there's definitely some extra color in her cheeks, but she's happy and she's practically glowing with pride.

After a moment, she rushes into his arms and his arms circle her waist. He presses a kiss to her hair before remembering that she's wearing a wig and the false hair feels warm from the stage lights as it scratches his lips.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

A determined look in her eyes, she holds his gaze and bites her lip. "Shattered. But amazing."

The laugh that escapes his lips brings a twinkle to her eye. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. You'll have to do it all over again tomorrow." There's a shutter sound and Percy spots his mom holding her phone up in their direction, she winked at him and pocketed it.

Piper congratulates her, as does Sally, and then she's dashes around the theatre delivering her wig, mic and costume to the relevant locations. When she emerges again she's in her Ravenclaw hoodie and a pair of black leggings, bag thrown over one shoulder and ready to go. In a single look he knows she's exhausted so he takes her bag and her hand, presses a kiss to her temple and guides her out a side exit towards a cab. Sally says her goodbyes and gets a car herself, though she makes yet another fuss off Annabeth before she leaves and gets rather teary all over again.

The three of them, Piper, Annabeth and Percy all pile into the cab and head to their apartment. When he asks about Jason and Thalia he's met with a blank look from both of the girls so he sends a quick text to his cousin.

 **percyjackson18** you dashed off pretty quick, is everything ok?

He glanced at her profile and spotted that she hadn't been active for a few hours so he slipped his phone back into his pocket with the intention of checking in on her again later. For now though, he would focus on getting his girlfriend home safe and resting.

His heart swelled when she wriggled in her sleep and gripped his shirt tightly in a fist, eyes squeezed shut and lips parted. Percy could certainly get used to life being like this for a while, Annabeth living out her dream and him doing nothing but watching her and holding her as she slept. It sounded perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> join my discord for updates on the sequel and other works ~ aGnRjeP52g


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